Back Again
by embirsiphonelilathia
Summary: Hermione had went to Japan looking for peace after the war. She didn't realize that another conflict was waiting for her. Listed characters is not the pairing. Sorry Everyone. Pairing is undecided.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! Look it's my first Crossover. This is for my fellow otakus out there that read my story Hermione's Boggart. This idea came to me yesterday and It was a bit of struggle at first but it came out a lot better than I thought it would. Now two things this is my FIRST crossover and also my first Bleach fic. Now that means I'm going to mess up and I'm looking for a Beta that knows both of the fandoms. So I am hearby apologizing for any horrible grammar or mistakes that I have made. I even went so far as to do a small bit of research of Japan so I could get some of the cultural things right. Now I'm thinking some of these people might by OOC but it's my first time writing anyone from bleach into a story so you'll have to forgive me. Now this is going to start at the arrancar arc and move on from there.. (I'm only on the swing part where the vizards decided to join in I haven't read any of their battle so yeah.. I'll read it soon though!) Anyway read away and I hope you enjoy. And if your some of my readers who aren't familiar with the Bleach Manga or Anime just drop me a message and I'll explain things as best I can so you can enjoy this to the fullest… or you could always go and read/watch it…. Trust me it's worth it.:P UPDATES WILL BE SLIGHTLY SPORADIC UNTIL I CAN WORK OUT A SCHEDULE!

CHAPTER 1

Hermione Granger was never one to lose patience over something as trivial as waiting for someone to show up. She was used to waiting on Harry and Ron, but this time the waiting was trying her patience to a new extreme. She had arrived in japan almost seven hours she had spent three hours waiting before she had decided to use magical means to get herself inside. She'd taken her bags and dropped them onto the floor of the shop before moving deeper into the building and finding the kitchen. She'd set about making the tea she had brought from England as a gift for her uncle. She dug in the pantry and fridge in order to find something to cook for dinner. She had decided on a simple meal of fried rice and pork. It was a quick and simple meal to prepare, she would never boast her culinary skills as anything other than average.

Once everything had been prepared she started to set the small table with food. She had to dig to find enough sets of chopsticks. She smiled lightly and sat down to wait again, she didn't think she'd have much longer to wait. Her uncle seemed to have a built in radar for these kinds of things.

"Hellloo." She smirked as she heard the front door open not even five minutes after she had sat down. "Hermione-chan is that you?"

"In here uncle!" She called and began to pour out measures of the tea into each cup. She had been taught japenese at a very young age along with some traditions and culture. It had all interested her but she lost many of those facts after she had entered Hogwarts, trying to learn the wizarding culture. She had honestly thought that she would never come back to Japan, but things had changed and she needed what she had left of her family. Her uncle Kisuke Uruhara had been an almost constant when she was a child, visiting her in England during her holidays. She had even traveled to Japan a handful of times to see him. Though Kisuke wasn't anything blood related, her parents had been very close to him and it shamed her to have to tell him what happened. She didn't want him to feel disappointed in her.

Kisuke walked through the door and Hermione immediately stood and bowed. "None of that my dear, come give me a hug!" Hermione smiled and rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her uncle. She breathed in the sent that surrounded him, it was so familiar and comforting. "You have grown so much since I last saw you. Though you are looking a bit thin. Didn't your parents feed you?"

Hermione frowned and pulled away, "Actually I need to speak with you about that. But first I made dinner and I even brought some of my favorite tea from England. Please sit down and eat."

She moved away from her uncle and followed him to the table. She immediately began to pour him a cup of tea. He smiled up at her and thanking her for the tea and food. She heard a noise from the door and turned to see Tessai standing there with two children and two boys around her age. She smiled and bowed to them in greeting. "Permission to hug Tessai-san?" She asked and yelped when the large man drew her into a tight hug.

"Hermione-chan it has been far to long. Sorry we kept you waiting." Tessai put her down on her feet and made his way to the table followed by the four other people. They were all looking at her weirdly and she couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"Now now everyone no more staring at my niece. Come have something to eat." Kisuke's voice was light but she heard the underlying demand and everyone averted their eyes. "Now what did you want to discuss about your parents?" Kisuke asked her as she took a seat in between the two boys.

Hermione's eye's shifted around the room and before turning back to her uncle. "Actually that's sort of private, also I'm technically not even suppose to tell you so the less people that know the better."

Kisuke eyes seemed to be appraising her and he finally nodded. "Alright you can tell Tessai and I later. Now I probably introduce you to everyone." He gestured to each person in turn "This is Kurosaki Ichigo, Abarai Renji, And these two are Ururu and Jinta, they help around the shop and live here with us. Everyone this is my niece Granger Hermione."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Hermione murmured and began to help herself to the rice she had prepared. The sentiments were echoed by everyone else and they began to tuck in to the food. She ate quietly as her uncle teased the kurosaki boy. She smiled lightly but it turned to a frown as she saw one of the boys reach for the tea. "Oh! Excuse me!" She grabbed the tea pot and poured everyone a cup of tea while refilling her Uncles. "I should have known better. I apologize."

"You don't have to worry about it. I could have gotten it myself." Kurosaki said and she only nodded her head.

"I know that but you're guests in the home of my uncle. So that means we should be serving you." Hermione said and smiled at the boy. She'd never been in a room with so much of that strange energy. The kurosaki boy's energy seemed to drown the rest of it out. It was amazing and dark, she wasn't scared though, she had felt things that were far more evil than that energy that twined within that boy.

"Where are you from Granger-san?" Abarai asked, breaking the staring contest that she was holding with Kurosaki.

"What was that Abarai-san?" She asked as she deftly flipped her chopsticks and picked up a piece of the pork she had prepared.

"I asked where you come from." Abarai said again.

"Oh well, I'm from England actually." She smiled at the boy and leaned forward. "But Uncle Kisuke always said I belonged in Japan. He said I picked up the language and culture with an ease he had never seen before. I've forgotten some things since I haven't studied up on anything dealing with japan in awhile so you'll have to forgive me if I make a mistake."

Abarai nodded at her and she smiled brightly. "Thank you." She said and rejoined the conversation at the table. She didn't know who these boys were to her uncle but they seemed nice enough. She was excited to show Tessai some of the things she learned at Hogwarts. He'd love to use some of the techniques to improve his 'remedies'. She'd never been subjected to them but she knew well enough that they were fouler than most potions she could think of.

"Uncle, may I be excused so I can go unpack?" She asked while placing her chopsticks across her bowl.

"Of course Hermione-chan. Thank you for the meal, it was quite good. It seems your cooking as improved." Hermione poked her tongue out at her uncle. It was good to be away from England, the darkness that had loomed there didn't seem to effect her here. She felt lighter, as if she could breath clearly. The warm energies that pulsed around her were comforting. She moved away from the table and bowed slightly before leaning over to place a kiss to her uncle's cheek. "Could someone help me with my bags?" She asked quietly and the two boys immediately stood. "Thanks." She muttered and led them over to her bags, a quick flick of her hand negated the weightless charms she placed on them and she reached for the bag that held her clothes before walking off to the room she knew would be hers. She chuckled as she heard both boys grunt as they lifted her bags.

"What is in these things?" Kurosaki growled as he moved forward.

"Just seven years worth of textbooks, 20 novels and a few other reference books. Why do you ask?" Hermione said as she slid open the door to her room. She turned to smirk at the stunned looks that had made their way onto their faces. She chuckled and moved into her room. "Sorry I should have warned you, I tend to be a bit of bookworm and I like to brush up and study whenever I get the chance. It's actually a lot of fun if you move pass the fact that it can isolate you in a library for hours Just put those bags there and if you could please bring the other bag. That one's quite heavy too and it has breakable things in it so I would really appreciate it you could both bring it here. I can tell you're both quite strong but it's better safe than sorry." She turned and gave them a bright grin, motioning them back towards the door. Both boys sighed and moved out of the room. It was amazing what you could get a pair of chivalrous boys to do. She heard the curses as they lifted her bag that she had filled with her potion supplies and chuckled. It really was quite heavy. She already had her clothes put away before they came back and she smiled her thanks.

"Thank you so much." Hermione said "I'll have to find a way to pay you both back."

"What on earth is in this thing? And how did you manage to get it onto a plane?" Kurosaki asked and she laughed.

"I have my ways Kurosaki-san. No if you boys will both excuse me I have to get this stuff put away." The boys left and she flicked her wand and her books flew to the shelf. As she went to use her wand to put away her things she was stunned as her door was shoved open and Kurosaki and her Uncle standing there. They watched as her potions things flew to the shelves and settled themselves. She stood stunned for a moment before she quickly moved forward. "Uncle you know better, you should have knocked!" She exclaimed and shoved them both out the door. It wasn't till after she had shut it again that she realized they had both been wielding swords and Kurosaki's clothes had changed. She shook her hand and finished setting up her new room by setting out to he futon. She then made her way back to the main room and began to clear away the used cups and dishes. She brought them to small kitchen and set them about washing themselves. Once again her uncle was standing in the doorway, looking at her in a new way. "Oh Uncle, how did you like the tea I brought for you?"

"It was very good Hermione. It was a little bit more bitter than I'm used to but still very nice. Now I believe we need to discuss a few things in the other room." He moved to the side and gestured for her to move out the door.

She moved passed him, her head down and he stopped her. "Hermione, I'm not upset with you. I just want to understand, besides you aren't the only one with secrets." He squeezed her shoulder and followed her to the other room. They sat at the table and she turned to Tessai. "Tessai-san, do you remember that tea you used to make for me when I was little?" He nodded his head and smiled at her softly before standing and making his way to the kitchen. She smiled softly and turned back to her uncle. "What would you like to know uncle?"

"How can you do the different tricks that I've seen you do?" He asked as he pulled out his fan and leaned forward. She knew that trick, he did that when he was trying to hide his reaction. Her uncle's eyes rarely showed emotion but his mouth was expressive. He could never fight the smirks or smiles when something happened. She smiled and began to talk.

"It all started when I turned eleven." She began her tale of Hogwarts and her friends there. The different subjects that she learned. The whole time they were quiet and Hermione made no mention of the war or the perils she faced in the Hogwarts halls. Kurosaki may have seen her but she wasn't about to divulge anything personal in front of him. She barely knew him. No she would wait for that until she could talk to Kisuke and Tessai alone. Her story was interrupted by Tessai handing her a cup of tea. She took a sip and sighed happily. She finished her story and waited for her uncle to talk.

"Why haven't I felt you use this gift before?" Kisuke asked.

"That would be because I wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school until I turned of age. That means I turned seventeen. I'm eighteen now so I can use it whenever I please. But I still have a year of school to finish. Which is why I was hoping you could manage a way for me to get into the high school this year. I need to finish my schooling and due to circumstances my school in England is shut down for the year. "

Kisuke nodded his head and moved the fan away from his face. He smiled at her and she felt warm at the acceptance she found. Kurosaki and the others were still quiet and she looked to Tessai, he smiled at her too. Just a slight quirk to his mouth and she breathed in relief. She had only wanted them to understand and it appeared that they did.

"You mentioned that you had your own secrets too?" Hermione inquired and she took another sip of the tea in front of her.

Kisuke smiled and launched into his tale of hallows and the soul society. Hermione had spent her maturity around magic so none of this was hard to believe, especially when they showed how Kurosaki and Abarai could leave their bodies. She was stunned though to know that most of the group had actually been dead for at least a hundred years.

"Does that mean that the dead are still around? That I could see them?" She asked a note of desperation in her voice.

Kisuke shook his head. "Not exactly, they're all probably in the soul society but you have to remember that it's another world. Even if you'd be allowed inside the soul society you probably would never find them."

She nodded her head and sighed sadly. She would eventually try to find them but she could be patient and wait to see if she could get permission. "I still have more to tell you uncle, but that may have to wait until tomorrow. It's all rather personal and I don't feel like I can share it with the others yet."

Kisuke nodded and she smiled her thanks. "Tessai-san will you be there too?" He nodded and she began to pour out measures of the tea after she had warmed it with a spell. Kurosaki and Abarai looked at their cups, their faces were rather frightened and she could help but laugh. "Don't worry boys, it's only tea, but I can tell you've had some of Tessai-san's famous remedies." Both boys nodded and carefully took a sip of the tea, the surprise of their faces made her smile and she laughed lightly. Being here would be good for her, she could tell.

"There are many others that you have to meet to Hermione-chan. I'm sure I can bring them here tomorrow, now why don't you go and rest. You've had a really long day."

Hermione nodded and stood. She bowed to the others and placed kisses on Kisuke and Tessai's cheeks, laughing lightly when the bigger man blushed. She thanked Abarai and Kurosaki again before tell Jinta and Ururu to wake her when they began to open the shop so she could help. She moved off to her room and laid down on her futon and let herself drift off to the nightmares she knew would come.

IKIKIKIKIKIKIK

Ichigo made his way home to his father's clinic. He wasn't entirely sure how this Granger girl knew Kisuke but they seemed rather close. He'd never seen anyone shower Tessai and Kisuke with affection the way she did. Her power was incredible, he could barely feel it until she used a spell as she called it. Then it seemed to flux and pulse outward. When he had felt it that first time he'd been stunned and thought that someone was attacking her. He was shocked when Kisuke had shot up and ran down the hall in head of him. He had only ever seen Kisuke when he was cold and distant and he most certainly had never seen either man embrace someone so casually. At first he thought she was a modsoul that Kisuke had created, the power around her was weak but their was power and he had been wary. But a few moments in her presence had convinced him otherwise. He was almost thankful for her arrival. If she could fight she would be an assest in the war ahead, she could help him save his friends from these Arrancars that had been popping up everywhere. He just hoped that everyone else took as well to her as he and Renji had.

KUKUKUKUKUKUKUKU

Kisuke stood outside of his nieces room. Yoruichi had been his last blood relative but Hermione was something special. He had meant her parents when he had went to England for a few years. He had known enough English to get by and he'd met them when he had been wondering around London taking in the sites. The memory was still fresh in his mind.

_He had been wondering around London and stumbled on Hyde Park. He and Tessai had decided to take a break and sit at a park bench. They had sat there for only a few short minutes before he had spotted a little girl wandering around on her own. She was small and her hair seemed to swallow her whole. She reminded him of the little porcelain dolls he had spotted in the windows of a few of the shops that he had seen. She looked so helpless standing there and looking around. He looked over at Tessai and noticed that he was watching the girl too. He made his decision and stood. He made his way to the girl and knelt down in front of her._

"_Hello little girl." He said keeping his voice as soft as possible. "Are you lost? Where are your parents?"_

_She looked up at him and he was stunned by the intelligence in her eyes. "Yeah. I wandered off after a group of ducks and lost sight of them. I don't normally wander off so they probably thought I was still there. I'm sure they'll be coming soon. Now I'm not suppose to be talking to strangers so I'd like it if you'd left me be now."_

_Kisuke stared at her for a few minutes before he began to chuckle. "Well I'm Kisuke Urahara." He said holding out his hand. The little girl stared at it for only a few moments before she took his hand in her own._

'_I'm Granger Hermione.' She said quietly and he was stunned to hear her speak in Japanese._

"_You know Japanese Hermione?" He asked._

"_Only a little. My dad's part Japanese. I've only just started learning." He smiled down at the girl and pointed off toward Tessai._

"_That's my friend Tessai. Would you like to come and wait? Or we could search for your parents." He said and smiled as the little girl finally gripped his hand. _

"_Let's go look for them ." She said softly. She seemed to have a glint in her, like she knew something he didn't and it made him curious. He motioned for Tessai to come over and was pleased when the little girl didn't shrink away from the large man. She merely reached up for his hand and they began to search for her missing parents. _

_They finally found them at a fountain. Hermione had rushed forward calling for her parents and her couldn't help but smile as they were reunited. Soon he was being introduced to Hermione's parents and he stood there as she regaled them with the story of how he had helped her. Her parents had immediately invited both men over for dinner. They left the park together and when they arrived at the Granger's home he couldn't help but think that the little girl had been raised in privilege. Her house was large and the lawn was immaculate. They had sat at the dinner table and discussed their work. They seemed fascinated by his shop and what he sold. Hermione's father had been be enthusiastic telling him some of the recipes that his grandmother had shared with him when he was a child. Apparently he was half Japanese and Hermione was only a quarter. He had been raised in Japan and moved to England to attend a university there. The night had wore on and he and Tessai had returned many times in the few weeks that they were staying in England. _

They promised to come again and visit and soon he was visiting whenever he got the chance. He had also begun to teach Hermione more of the Japanese language and culture, determined that she would come visit him one day. She had come to, many times while she was growing up, most of the time her parents had come with her but he was pleased that she had come to see him again. She was troubled and unsure, he could feel the negative emotions pouring off of her in waves. He decided that they would talk tomorrow after they opened up the shop and had breakfast. Maybe he could convince Hermione to make him a western breakfast. He had missed them and didn't know anyone who could cook them right.

_****REVIEW! AND IF YOU HAVE ANY TIPS LET ME KNOW!***_

_(also I know Kisuke dropped the honorific but that was because they were alone and when yo've known someone for that long it doesn't tend to matter anymore. But he sticks to the polite usage in public.)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: CHAPTER 2! Kinda crappy but I promise this will get better. This is my first shot at writing anything remotely actiony and also with so many characters involved.. It's going to start off slow until the arrancars show up which should be the next chapter or the one after that. It'll be interesting to write. And you all thought her parents were dead. But really there as good as, they have no idea who they truly were and now they're completely different people. I'm trying to portray a Kisuke and Tessai to the best of my abilities. But as many people know my stories tend to get better as they go on… Anyway I hope you enjoy and can forgive me for another slow chapter… soon we'll get to have some fun.

Chapter 2

Hermione woke up and stretched her arms above her head. The nightmares hadn't been as severe as they normally would have been. She was sure it was because the wizarding world back home stank of violent magic. She shook the thoughts of home away and pushed her blankets to the side. Turning to the clock on the floor she realized that it was only five in the morning.

"So much for Jetlag." She grumbled and stood, making her way to the small closet in her room. She slid the doors open and pulled out a few pieces of clothing. She quickly changed and tied up her hair into a neat braid. Putting away the futon on her floor she made her way to the middle of the room. It was large enough for her purposes and it would work until she could find a better space.

She began to move her body an intricate dance. Twisting her arms and legs, spinning, stopping and lunging with her wand. This was her training, a regimen she had designed to keep her dueling skills at their peak. Because of this training she was quick and agile, though she didn't look like much. This routine one she had done over and over again everyday when she woke up had helped to train her mind and keep her reflexes sharp. Normally she would be firing spells at targets but it just wasn't practical to do that in her uncle's house.

When she was finished there was a light sheen to her skin and her breathing felt a little heavier. She stretched and cooled herself down by walking around the room. She got a work out from the routine but it wasn't anything major, she'd call it cardio at best. She glanced at the clock again it read a little after six in the morning. It was time for a shower and to start breakfast. She moved back to her closet and pulled out her clothes for the day. She made her way towards the bathroom and began to bathe herself.

When she was finished bathing and getting dressed she grabbed the her yukata and tossed it over her t-shirt in jeans. This was a habit that she had picked up from her uncle. She was walked quickly down the hall and made her way to the small kitchen. Digging around in the cupboards she found bread and a few other things she'd need for a typical breakfast she'd have in England.

She was finishing setting the table as Ururu and Jinta came into the room. "Good morning." She said quietly and sat down at the table. Today was going to be a long day, she just knew. She began to put food on her plate and watched as the two children just stared at the food before them. "Don't worry. It's all edible, just try a bit of everything that way you can find things you like." She gave them a reassuring smile and took a bite of her eggs. She had conjured forks and knives to use, since all Kisuke had was chopsticks. She really hadn't felt like eating scrambled eggs with chopsticks.

She watched them as they took some food from each plate and began to eat. They didn't make any sign of whether they liked it or not, but they hadn't stopped eating so she took it as a positive sign. They ate quietly until her uncle came in calling out good mornings, he even went so far as to hug her for making breakfast. She watched in amusement as he dug into the food in front of him.

They all finished their breakfast and opened the store. She was getting more and more nervous as the hour went by. She wasn't positive of her uncles reaction to the news she had to share. Sitting at the table she began to fidget with her hands, she could feel her uncle sit down next to her.

"What do you have to tell me Hermione?" Kisuke asked, pouring himself a cup of tea.

Hermione was quiet for only a little while before she took a deep breath and began to speak. She delved into the grittier aspects of her years at Hogwarts. The times she almost died, the times she'd been alone and the times she'd fought. Her uncle's face was as dead as a stone and sorrow shone in his eyes. She went on then to explain her most recent year.

"See the thing is before we set out I- I wiped out my parents memory. They don't know I exist! I tried to reverse it been it's been on them for to long." Her voice was choked and Kisuke wrapped her up in his arms.

"There's more isn't there?" he asked her softly,

"The war." She whispered and a shudder went through her body. "I saw and experienced things that wizards and witches older than me have never experienced. I was tortured and cursed. I've almost died many times and it's relief to have it all come to an end. " She went on to go into as much detail as possible about the horcruxes and what they went through to get them all, what _she _had gone through to recover them. She told him of her short-lived romance with Ron.

"He probably didn't deserve you to begin with little one." Kisuke said trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yes, Boss is right. He probably would have ran scared when you introduced him to us anyway." Tessai said as he poured her a cup of tea. "I am sorry to hear that you've had such a hard life. Had we known Hermione, we would have been there. "

Hermione reached over and gripped his tightly, "I know Tessai."

"Hermione, I really am proud of you." Kisuke told her softly placing a kiss to her forehead and standing up. "If you'll excuse me though I have a few things I need to look into."

Hermione watched him leave and felt a little disappointed he hadn't said anything else. "He's only angry at himself child." Tessai said, his voice gentle. He lifted her up to her feet and gave her a brief hug. "We're both very glad you are safe. If you need anything, medicine, help, sometime to talk to. We'll be here. It might not hurt to talk to Kurosaki-san and the moocher either."

"The moocher?" She asked softly.

"Abarai Renji." Tessai responded and moved to the front of the shop.

She stood in the middle of the room for awhile. Just reflecting on what had passed, she felt like a weight had been lifted. One she had been baring for far to long. She let herself stay in her reverie as she moved to the door and slipped on her shoes. She made her way past Tessai and the others and to the front of the shop. Before she left she told Tessai that she was heading to the high school to get her transfer papers. He had nodded her head and handed her some money for food. She thanked him and began to walk through the small town.

It was pretty quiet here. People walked the streets, unafraid of what waited for them around the corner. So different from England. Fear still existed very strongly their and it would probably be years before the stench of fear and anger went away. She heard an unearthly scream then as she was observing the people around her. No one else seemed to hear it and her instincts kicked in. Soon she was running for the noise darting between people and buildings until she found herself in a open lot. She saw a masked creature standing there. It was huge and looked more like an insect that anything else. She went to move in but suddenly Kurosaki was there and the monster was gone. She heard it's final scream and a wave of anguish tore through.

"Granger what are you doing here?" Kurosaki was in front of her.

"I heard the scream and ran to it. That creature was so sad." Her voice was soft and Kurosaki gave her a knowing look.

"Hollows are always sad and angry. That's why they become hollows." Kurosaki said. "What are you doing away from the shop anyway?"

"Trying to find the high school. I decided to go and get my transfer papers. Do you think you could show me the way?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah just let me get back into my body and I'll bring you there. It's surprising that you'll be going to school. You'll be in class 3 right?" Kurosaki asked her as he pulled himself back into his body.

"Yeah I will. But I hope you don't mind if I spend my free time with your class. I don't know anyone here and it would be nice to be around someone I knew."

"You really should be more careful. Hollows are dangerous creatures and all we need is someone else getting hurt. Urahara would kill me if I let anything happen to you." Kurosaki told her giving her a reproachful look.

Hermione scoffed. "I can take care of my self thanks, and my uncle is very aware of that. I've seen things far worse that hollows in my life anyway."

Kurosaki gave her a questioning look, but she refused to acknowledge it. Instead they walked a long in silence parting when they reached the main office at the school. A few flicks of her wand and Hermione was a fully fledged member of the school. She requested to use the phone and went to call her uncle.

"Urahara's shop."

"Uncle! I got the papers all situated. I'm officially a member of Karakura High school. I don't have the uniform yet but I'm sure I could get one." Hermione was excited for the prospect that school provided. It meant a distraction from all of the different things that she had been forced to experience. It was a perfect escape that occupied her mind.

"That's good to hear Hermione. Will you be coming back to the shop today or are you going to stay at the school?" Kisuke asked her.

"Would you mind terribly if I stayed here?" She asked with an unsure voice.

Kisuke laughed, "Of course you can. Take care of Kurosaki for me my dear. Now be sure to come home right after school and don't talk to strangers."

She laughed quietly and smiled. "Thank you Uncle Kisuke."

She hung up the phone after their conversation ended. She went to the front desk again and inquired after a uniform. The receptionist told her she would have to wait till tomorrow to get one but she could attend class in what she was wearing, but only for the day. She smiled and thanked the woman receiving a key to her shoe locker. She made her way to the hall and removed her shoes, slipping on the provided slippers. Hermione smiled and made her way to class.

******Review PLEASE!!! That's the only way I can write quickly because then I know what my readers want!******

Also thanks for the alerts^_^


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: While I'm disappointed in the fact that I didn't receive much feedback of my previous chapter compared to the number of current alerters that doesn't mean I'll ever stop writing. Honestly this story is for me and I'm writing it to please myself. If I can please you all at the same time that'd be great. But sometimes I can't and while that sucks I can't really complain. Once again I'm building up the back story and relationships before I get into the actual action.. I'm not sure how much this will actually follow the cannon events..

Chapter 3

Hermione made her way to her class room, a part of her wished she was with the others in Ichigo's class but she knew better than to think they would be. Her only real worry at this moment was making sure her knowledge of the Japanese language and the amount of muggle study she did on her own will hold up in this environment. As she reached the hall where her class was located she paused and took a deep breath, centering herself. Squaring her shoulders she walked to the door and knocked.

The teacher was quick to answer and Hermione smiled gently. "Hello Professor, I'm Granger Hermione. I'm suppose to be joining your class today."

The professor looked confused for a moment before he nodded his head and brought her into the class. He swiftly introduced her and allowed her to speak for a bit. She told her new peers that she came from England and was currently staying with her uncle. When she was finished speaking she moved to her seat and watched the professor teach his class.

He was quite good and pretty attentive to things. Though he wasn't very strict, she could hear a few people whispering off the side of the class. As she sat there waiting through the different lessons that were being taught to them throughout the day she realized that she could keep up quite well with what was being taught at this level at the school. Especially with the Cram classes and after school clubs that were offered here. She was looking forward to the challenge and though with the hollows and possible issues with that man Aizen, she couldn't really complain. After all nothing could be worse that Voldemort.

She was so lost in thought that morning that she barely realized that bell had sounded for lunch. She glanced around the room and a few people were lingering by the desks, just looking at her. She smiled slightly and stood from her chair. She moved forward towards one of the groups and bowed.

"Granger Hermione. It's lovely to meet you." Hermione said and pulled her self straight and smiled again.

They were silent for a moment before one of the boy's stepped forward with a "Uzumeki Hachiro. It nice to meet you Granger-san." He gave a slight bow and moved away, a calculating look on his face. She was wary of the boy now, with the way he looked at her, but she shrugged it off for now and waited to hear the other names.

"Saitou Fumio." A taller boy stepped forward. His hair was long and his eyes were filled with mischief. He reached out his hand instead of bowing. Hermione reached forward and grasped the hand meaning to give it a shake, instead she gasped as a shot of energy surged through her body. She smiled at the boy and looked down at his hand.

"I'm sorry Saitou-san. Your hand was cold, it shocked me a little." Saitou smiled, losing the suspicious look on his face.

"I get that a lot Granger-san." As he moved back another stepped forward and grasped her hand, plating a kiss to the back of it.

"Tanaka Hioshi, I must say I'm thrilled that we've finally got such a lovely girl to look at." This boy she would be wary of. He reminded her Zabini from back home, they both oozed sex appeal. He was just as nice to look at too, shaggy black hair and few piercing scattered about his face. But it was his eyes that made her wary they went far beyond calculating and lusty, she felt like he was planning the hunt in his head, and she was the unwilling prey. It unnerved her. But she blushed all the same and moved her hand away noticing that he sent that same energy pulsing through her. Though his seemed to try and twine around her own, her magic struck back and the boy jumped.

"Something wrong Tanaka-Kun?" Hermione asked as she widened her eyes and faked an innocent smile. She knew what boys like him wanted and should could play the game just as well. There it was he'd heard the honorific change, he was Kun the rest were San. She watched a cocky smile drift over his lips as he moved back from her and shook his head.

"No nothings wrong Granger-kun, just felt like a got bit by something." Hermione forced her cheeks to redden a little more and smiled.

"Kobayashi Masumi. Hopefully you're as intelligent as you look, we don't need any more idiots around here." He bowed and looked up at her. He almost looked like he was angry with her and at first she couldn't see why, but then she realized that he though Hermione had played into Tanaka's hands. She merely grinned, boys were such fools sometimes.

"I'm not sure how intelligent I look Kobayashi-san, but maybe if you showed me where the library was sometime, it could help me out. Would you please?" She asked him, trying her best not to sound sarcastic. There was something up with these guys and she knew in order to find out, she'd have to play the role they wanted quite well, she just wasn't sure what that was at the moment.

The boy scoffed, "Can't you find it yourself?" Kobayashi looked like a scholar. Immaculate uniform, Practical bag and his hair was style in a way that reminded her of Percy Weasley. He was the type of guy she always though she'd go for but apparently that wasn't the case here.

"Masumi." The last boy said in warning and Kobayashi shut his mouth. She peered at the other boy and noticed that he was rather short for a boy his age, not much taller than her. She smiled at him and studied his appearance. His hair was wild and he reminded her a bit of Ichigo when it came to style of dress. She was so lost in her reverie that she didn't notice the other boy until he touched her shoulder. Another zing of energy and she turned.

"I'm sorry Kobayashi-san, could you repeat that?" She asked him, keeping her voice quiet.

"I can show you the Library tomorrow after school if you like." He said, his eyes held annoyance but his voice was smooth and calm.

"Actually I have to home straight away after school tomorrow. My uncle invited his associates over for dinner and I have to cook for him." Kabayashi smiled at her and this time it seemed sincere. "But perhaps tomorrow during lunch? Would that be alright Kabayashi-san?"

He nodded his had and removed his hand from her shoulder before he moved away and leaned on the desk nearby.

Hermione looked at the other boy waiting for his name but he merely stared at her. His eyes seemed to roam over her, her clothes, her body, her face and even her hair. Normally this type of scrutiny from a complete stranger would make you feel uncomfortable but she merely felt as if she was a book that the boy wanted to read. Slowly he held out his hand but it didn't look like she was meant to shake it. He held it aloft like a king did before his knights. Did he really expect her to do that? Though she could work it to her advantage if she did. She decided she could compromise and she clutched his hand ignoring the powerful surge that shook her body. She bowed over his hand and touched it her forehead. She stood and smiled at the boy. He had a large, pleased grin over his face.

"Nakamura Orochi. It's a pleasure to meet you Granger-san." His voice was smooth and cheerful. He seemed so different to the boy she had seen earlier, the one that silenced a friend with just their name.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Nakamura-san." She said back and as the boy went to speak again he was interrupted by a shout from the door.

"Yo! Granger, you coming to lunch or what?" She turned to see Ichigo and Renji lounging in the door and she smiled brightly.

"AH! Kurosaki! Abarai-san. Sorry I was getting to know a few of my new classmates." She turned to the other boys and bowed, smirking as she sent out a pulse of her magic and watched them stiffen. "I'll speak to you all some other time, and I'll see you Kabayashi-san tomorrow during lunch yes?"

"Yes of course Granger-san." The boy replied and they said their goodbyes. She left the room without looking back. They walked quietly to the roof of the school and they came up to al large group of boys and girls. It seemed Hermione would be meeting many new people today.

A/N: You'll be seeing those five boys quite often so try and remember them.. Sorry this chapter is a bit iffy… but writing introductions can be rather boring. Don't worry the only Introductions that will actually appear in the next chapter are for the people related to the soul society and those will be short.. Very short.:D But anyway will get more into the story later on and I hope you all can be a little patient. The next chapter should be up and written by Friday, Saturday at the latest. I know it's a bit of a wait but it's only because I have other stories I'm outlining at the moment. Thanks so much for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:Sooooo yeah.. I fail:D Sorry guys, this took so long to write because I've been having the worst migraines for a week. No before you get all concerned it's only because I haven't had the chance to get into the eye doctor for a check up but I'm hoping that will change soon. This chapter starts out slow and gets a bit faster later on. I want to say right now that I am NOT a fan of Orihime, however I'm trying not to let my prejudice against her effect my story to much, because she is a good person, she's just far to weak to be in a battle.

Kurosaki gave her swift Introductions to each of the people that sat there. Many of them shared the feel of Ichigo's energy and three had his reaistu wrapped around them like a cocoon. What Hermione didn't understand though, was why Kurosaki felt so much darker than the others. She sat down listening as the conversations flowed around her, seeing them interact made her nostalgic for the more peaceful times at Hogwarts.

"Granger-san? Where are you from?" It was the boy, Ishida that asked.

"From West Sussex. It's a town off London in England." She explained, raising her voice slightly to carry over everyone in the group.

"What was your school like?" Inoue asked her and Hermione shrugged.

"I went to school somewhere in Scotland, the boarding school I went to was Very exclusive. They only took in.. "Special" kids." Hermione looked around and quickly realized she was the only one without a lunch. She had forgotten to go and get food from the vending machine. She was nudged by Kurosaki and he handed her one of the bean buns he had purchased. "Oh, I couldn't take your food Kurosaki-san."

"Granger, I'm not giving it to you but I will share." He said and pushed the food into her hand. "Besides this means you owe me food, you can just cook for me later."

Hermione smiled and nodded her head, soon as she ate Ishida placed a drink in front of her and Abarai handed her another bean bun. "Are you all trying to get free food off me?" Abarai nodded with a smirk and Ishida shook his head.

"If you cook anything like most the girls here I'll pass." Ishida said to her, his voice low so none of the other girls could hear what was said.

"I'll have you know I can cook." She mumbled and finished up her food. They had sat their for a few more minutes before the bell sounded. She stood and said goodbye. When she reached the classroom the five boys she had met earlier seemed to be staring at her the rest of the day.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

She had walked back to the shop with Abarai and Kurosaki, they told her stories about Rukia's rescue and different Hollows that they had fought. The more they talked about defeating the Hollows the more she wanted to help. She knew they were fallen souls but didn't think she would have the ability to cleanse there souls, she might be able to do an exorcism but those took time and a lot of magic to perform. So she made peace with the fact that all the shinigami in the area were strong enough to handle them.

She wasn't used to not being very useful in a situation like this and she decided to find a way to help. As she made her decision they arrived at the shop. She quickly moved to the kitchens and began to help Ururuu cook a large meal for everyone. Apparently more guests were coming over and they had to train tonight, so food was a must. When they had finished the preperations for the food and had to let some things finish cooking she went to her room and began to make potions. She prepared the ingredients for many different kinds mostly healing potions but she also made some offensive and defensive potions that had powerful effects on the drinker. When she had finally set the last potion to a simmer, flicking her wand to set the times for the burners to shut off she made her way into the dining area. Ishida, Kuchiki, Inoue, Sado were also there, she smiled at them in greeting and sat down to eat. The conversation was on Arrancars, apparently there was s concern of another encounter. The initial one had be bad from what she understood, a lot of people had been injured and Sado had almost lost his arm. She was immediately intrigued by Inoue's powers to heal and shield people. She had never heard of anything like it and made a note to ask for a demonstration later. Ishida though was the only other person who could put a name to their powers, as a Quincy he was an enemy to the shinigami and their allies. Apparently he and Kurosaki had managed to move past that and form a rather snaky friendship with each other.

"Uncle? I wanted to let you know that I'm brewing some Potions and remedies to heal injuries. I also started on some potions that could help someone offensively and defensively in battle." Hermione said and placed her empty bowl on the table. She helped herself to some of the tea and took a careful sip of the hot brew.

Kisuke looked at her for a moment a frown on his face before he smiled. "Thank you Hermione. That should be very helpful."

She knew Kisuke wouldn't approve of her involvement and as much as she loved her uncle, she found she didn't care. Hermione was here and had the means to help, so she would, no matter what he uncle said. She wasn't going to sit by while another dark lord tried to take over. "I was also wondering if there was a room that I could do my training in? I don't want to get rusty." Again she received a frown but her uncle stood and led her to a long room with wooden floors.

"This should be suitable for now." He said his voice a little cold. No Kisuke wasn't happy but Hermione wasn't going to stop just because he was upset. She respected her uncle, but she knew what was best for her. She quickly waved her wand at herself and transfigured her clothes to appropriate training gear and then waved her wand around the room, warding it from spell damage. She launched herself into her routine, firing off spell after spell as she spun, tumbled and rolled. It would be better to have some dummies or even real opponents, but she had to work with what she was given. She finally dropped her wand and moved to the wall. She moved aside a panel and found what she was looking for.

Hermione had learned basic martial arts in many areas, she was never a very physical person but certain Japanese weapons had fascinated her and she had worked hard to become proficient with the each one. She could fight with steel fans, Kamas that were attached to chains, bladed tonfas, sais and nunchuks. She could use them all with varying degrees of skill. She had never actually used metal kamas on the chains. She wasn't confident enough not to injure herself because she had hit herself many times with the curved woodens blades. Nunchuks tended to hit her in the head when she wasn't careful and she wasn't very fast with them but they were fun all the same. The ones she could use and use them well were the weapons that used both her hands to fight. Her uncle had told it was probably because they became extensions of the arms using less of her concentration on controlling the weapons and allowing her to focus on attacking the target. She barely had any practice with them unless she was at home or here in Japan, so she wasn't as good as she could have been, she just hoped that she wasn't to rusty.

She pulled out the fans first, hefting the weight in her hands before she moved into a fluid dance with them. She could only go on for ten minutes before the weight of the steel began to hurt her arms. She really was out of practice. She grabbed the sais and used them instead, while they were steel they weren't as heavy as the fans and she could use them for longer before her arms began to tire. She didn't realize she had an audience of Kurosaki and his friends. They had come after Ishida had insisted seeing what Hermione was doing. He could feel the pulse of magic with every spell she shot off earlier.

When she finally dropped the sais back into the cubby and picked up her wand, they had come into the room. Kurosaki looked pleased and most everyone else looked a little impressed. She wasn't nearly as good as three shinigami in battle but she was better than most.

"Hello. I didn't know you were there." Hermione said and moved to leave the room.

"Wh- what are you?" The question came from Inoue who looked a little frightened. "What were those lights earlier?" Her voice sounded disapproving and Hermione scowled.

"What I am exactly is really any of your business, the people that need to know the situation know. You would have never seen this if you hadn't decided to come and spy on me while I trained." Kurosaki blocked the way and looked down at the girl.

"Granger. It was just a question." He said with a frown.

"Yes a question laced with disapproval and fear. If she can't stand to feel my energy than she'll never be able to stand up in battle." She turned to Inoue with a frown. "You should probably be training too. After all you destroyed your only weapon because it was too weak to be used properly. All of your powers should be honed, every skill that you have should be trained and used until it's the best you can make it. And if you think what I did earlier was bad then you're in for a world of pain when this little battle finally comes to a head."

She pushed passed Kurosaki, ignoring the calls for her to stop. When she was about to enter her room her arm was grabbed and she was pulled back. She looked into the scowling face of Kurosaki before she yanked her arm from his grasp.

"What gives you the right to speak to Inoue that way? I won't let you talk to my friends like that." He nearly growled the words as he moved his face close to hers.

"The fact that I've actually been in a war gives me the right to speak to her that way. She's far to naïve for a battle like this. She's scared of me now because she felt me cast a few harmless hexes. I'd hate to see her face if I used an unforgivable. She isn't ready for something like this and I'm telling her what she needs to hear. I've never been one to sugar coat anything for someone when the truth was necessary. You have no idea what I have gone through, none at all and if you think I'm going to sit back and let that little girl over there become a detriment to a battle where people I love will be fighting then you have another thing coming. She should have been training all her powers from day one but she's too kind hearted and naïve for it! You all should have been making her train instead of letting her hid behind you! She has the abilities and now she needs to learn to use them before it's too late!" She hissed at the boy and moved into her room, slamming the sliding door as best she could. She had left the stunned Kurosaki standing in the hallway and she really didn't care if she had sounded cruel.

Hermione had witness far to much bloodshed to let someone like Inoue fight. She didn't have the heart to kill and until she got that, she shouldn't be allowed to fight at all. She would do nothing but bring the rest down. It wasn't she wasn't useful though, her healing powers and shield could be quite useful when it came to tending the injured but she knew that girl wanted to fight alongside Kurosaki and that just pissed her off. The girl was too confident in the fact that Kurosaki was strong. That would be her downfall in the end.

She had watched them today, how everyone seemed to look to Kurosaki, as if he had all the answers. He was just another Harry Potter born into something that he never wanted. Inoue was in love with the boy and from what she had heard, had followed him to every major battle. Her confidence in the boy was obscene, in fact all the them were obscene. How could one fifteen year old boy handle all that? She had seen Harry try and it had nearly destroyed him. They placed far to much stock in the young man and it made her so angry. It shouldn't be on him to solve all the problems of the shinigami and Karakura town. She pulled out her futon and flung herself down onto after it was laid out. She just wanted to be a lone with her potions and books.

She had laid there for several hours until she heard a knocking on the wood of her door. "Hermione, let me in."

Her uncle was on the other side and Hermione sighed before standing up. She moved to the door and pulled it open. "Yes Uncle?" Her voice a little cold as she spoke.

"Can I come in and talk?" He asked and Hermione nodded before moving aside. He came into the room and looked at all the small cauldrons that were set up around her room. "Are these the potion?" He asked quietly moving towards them.

"Yes, I just need to bottle them and figure out how they'll carry them when they in their spiritual forms." Hermione stated before sitting down at the chair near her desk. Kisuke nodded and turned to her.

"Hermione I know you've always been rather opinionated and I don't really blame you for what you said to Inoue. Most of it's true. That girl holds a lot of love in her heat and is far too kind to fight in a battle like what's to come. I had been meaning to tell her all this myself but I just hadn't found the right moment. That being said you seem to be acting as if this battle is yours to fight." He grew quite for a moment and Hermione opened her mouth to respond but he stayed her with his hand. "You will have nothing to do with this battle, you will not be fighting. It's bad enough that you want to make these potions and train! I won't have you out there getting hurt!" His voice was firm and strong as he spoke to her and Hermione grew angry.

"You are not my father Kisuke, you cannot tell me what to do! I will not let the people I care about fight without me! I've barely known Kurosaki for a day and I already feel ready to fight beside him till death. I will not let the same things that happened to Harry happen to that boy! He's too young for this!" She yelled back, her voice louder than it had ever been when it was directed at Kisuke.

"No Hermione! You won't be fighting and that is final! You wanna help? Help him train!" Kisuke's face was a little red as he finished speaking.

"But unc-!" Hermione started but she was quickly silenced by her uncle.

"No Hermione. I may not be your father but I'm the closest thing you've got to one right now and I will not allow you to come to anymore harm! Wasn't one war enough for you?" His voice was soft as he asked this question and Hermione could only nod. One was had been enough, but she just couldn't bring herself to stand by and let this kind of thing happen without at least doing something.

"Do you understand Hermione? I know you're a warrior, you've told me everything. I know you can fight, but please for my peace of mind stay out of this battle." Hermione could only nod her head softly and pray that she could change her uncle's mind before it was too late for her to truly help. "You should also apologize to Inoue for being so harsh on her. She used to kind words and I think you might have made her cry." Hermione snorted as Kisuke drew her into a hug, she'd apologize for speaking harshly but not for what she said. Not even her uncle could make her do that.

After her uncle left her room, she bottled the potions that had finished and cast stasis charms on the ones that were still simmering. She then climbed onto the futon and curled up to sleep. As she slept she dreamt of death and blood, this time though familiar faces had started to be replaced with ones that she had only recently come to know.

A/N: And Orihime is scared of Hermione because some of the hexes and curse she cast are dark ones. I thought that since she fears Ichigo's dark side she would fear the energy that pulsed from Hermione. Ichigo was her defender because that's just what Ichigo does. And the more I think about it the more similar the situations between Ichigo and Harry are, both far to young but determined to win. Also they have a smart and brainy friend, there to help them train and get better. A crazy mentor. A hot-headed but mostly loyal friend. And a stalkerish Redhead after them that can only see them as a Hero and not an actual person.. Though Orihime is a thousand times better than Ginny. Anyway hope you enjoyed.. Next will probably be some more training between Hermione and the others… and Ichigo goes to the Vizordes…. Maybe not sure. Also don't expect another update too soon, as I'm not sure when I'll get my new glasses or get an appointment in. Thanks for reading! Also excuse any spelling mistakes.. Like I said.. I have a migraine.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: sooo I had this written and then I lost my flash drive with my stories on it and had to replace it.. So don't be mad^_^ and also I tend to write more often when I get reviews… I dunno but it's true when I say feedback fans the flames of creativity.. There that and also I was stuck for near a week on this sucker before I could write it properly and now I have to redo the darn thing ugh. Anyway without further ado.

Disclaimer: JKR and Tite Kubo are the geniuses behind these little wonders^_^

CHAPTER 5

Hermione sighed and made her way to Kurosaki's class room. She really didn't see why she was doing this, it wasn't her fault that Inoue can't handle the truth. She fumed silently through the halls until she came to the conclusion that she had been a little to harsh on the girl. She nodded her head and resigned herself to apologizing. Though she had to admit a small reason she was apologizing was because it seemed her harsh words had negatively effected her relationship with the boys she was determined to train. Last night after she had snapped at Inoue the others had apparently left rather abruptly.

When she reached the classroom she peaked inside to try and find Kurosaki. He stood out like a sore thumb with his height and bright hair. She laughed softly as he scowled at the group of people standing around him. Apparently he was the butt of joke and she watched wide eyed as he punched Madarame on the top of his head. It was nice to see that he still had enough spirit in him to still be a teenager. She moved into the room and flinched as people slowly stopped talking and stared at her. Soon the group of teens she had been studying glanced her way, she walked forward even under the blank stares she received. Honestly scowls would have made her feel better. She spotted Inoue and the back of the group and moved towards with a smile.

"Inoue-san? Could I speak to you for a moment?" She asked the girl. She almost rolled her eyes when Inoue looked back at the others, her eyes asking if it was alright to speak with her. The girl finally nodded and Hermione moved closer and bowed.

"I'm sorry for the harsh words that I spoke. I shouldn't have said those things to you in such a way but I will not regret voicing my opinion on the matter." She stood straight and smiled slightly at the girl. "You're a nice girl Inoue, I just don't think you're ready for this yet." She turned with a final smile and a wave to the group. She left the room quickly, shutting the door as the whispers broke out.

She walked quickly down the hall and stopped when she realized she was being called. She turned to see Kurosaki, Ishida, Abarai, Madarame and two boys she couldn't quite remember. Why on earth were these boys chasing after her? She had apologized, what more do they want?

She stopped walking and turned fully to face the group coming after her. "Was there something you needed?" She tried to keep the cool edge from her voice but she could still hear it there.

"What was that? Granger, that isn't an apology." Kurosaki said. He seemed a little angry and she couldn't help but smile at the reminder of her friend.

"It was an apology. I was write in what I said, you know that. She isn't ready for a battle like this, her heart is far to soft and kind. She would only burden everyone by being in the battle. It's bad enough my Uncle won't allow me to fight, though he won't be able to stop me if I decide to do it anyway. I won't have a bunch of kids going into a fight, when their minds will be focused on protecting one person instead of fighting like they should. Inoue-san is a good person Kurosaki-san, I know this, but she isn't fit to battle this threat." Hermione kept her voice firm and was shocked when another voice spoke up in her favor.

"She's right Kurosaki." It was a small boy with snow white hair that spoke. He looked young, not even close to being a student at a high school. But their was something in his eyes that told her he was far older than he appeared. She gave him a small smile, but his face remained blank. Kurosaki turned and scowled at the smaller boy.

"That isn't the point Toshiro." Kurosaki said and she laughed out loud when the smaller boy got angry and snapped at Kurosaki.

"It's Captain Histugaya!" Hitsugaya growled out and clenched his fists. She couldn't help but liken him to a pouting child. It was rather cute. When they realized she was laughing at their antics both boys blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Anyway Kurosaki, I did as I was asked. I apologized. Was their something else you all wanted?" She tapped her foot and raised an eyebrow at them. "Also shouldn't you introduce me to your other friends? Since you brought them with you to argue with me?"

Kurosaki turned a little pink but nodded, but when he opened his mouth to introduce Histugaya properly he was cut off. "Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro, of the thirteen court guard squads." The younger boy stood their, not even bothering to observe the tradition of bowing during his introduction. She decided she rather liked him.

"Granger Hermione, Lieutenant of Dumbledore's Army, Receiver of the Order of Merlin First Class for services to my world and Hogwarts School dropout." She didn't bother bowing either. She almost laughed at the looks she got from the people she had already met. This was the first time she had tagged on titles to her name, but really she didn't think anyone besides her and Histugaya knew she was teasing him.

As they stood their staring at each other, she heard someone clear their voice and she turned her head to look at a taller boy with a rather pretty face. He looked like he took pride in his appearance and she almost wrote him off as a useless pretty boy, but the way he was looking at her, changed her mind. His eyes didn't look her over in a lustful appreciation, instead they seemed to calculating her worth, to see if she could truly say the words she did earlier and know what she was talking about. And she probably looked like she could. She had never covered the scars she had received during the battle. Many smaller ones littered her hands, face and neck. While larger ones covered more vital areas on her body. She was proud of the scars she bore, they were signs that she had truly fought for what she believed in, proof that she wasn't just a brain. The boy moved forward and took her hand, her eyes widened as he bent over it to place a kiss to the back of her hand.

"You can just call me Yumi-Chika." He said and smirked up at her. His mouth quirked down to a frown when he realized that she wasn't falling for his charm.

"Granger Hermione. You can call me Granger-san." She said with the same arrogant air the had used towards her. She smirked as she turned her hand and shook his. "You're rather vain aren't you?" He looked a little offended and she couldn't help but smirk. "And you don't have much a sense of humor do you? Honestly I'm just kidding, you can call me whatever you like."

"Lovely. It's nice meeting you Hermione-chan. You have quite a nice sense of style." She frowned and looked down to her unembellished uniform before she realized what had happened. Not being ready for such a shock of humor from the man her laugh came out as a small snort, which had only made her laugh a little harder. It seemed Yumi-chika had a sense of humor sometimes.

"It's lovely to meet you as well." She looked to her watch and it read only a few minutes to class time. She frowned and looked back up. "By the way Kurosaki-san, Uncle Kisuke wants you to come to the Shop with your friends. Something about training. It was nice seeing you Ishida-san, Madarame-san." She turned on her heel and walked down the hallway, ignoring the protests that they weren't done talking. When she was at the stairs to go to the next level of the school she heard a shrill alarm going off and Kurosaki cussing. '_Must be a hollow.' _She thought and walked up the steps to her class.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione couldn't be more thankful for a class to end. The entire time she had felt the eyes of the five boys she had met yesterday boring into her. They came from all directions and it had made it hard to concentrate. Not only that but it was made worse by her inability to correctly remember any of their names. She stood, grabbing her bag and making her way up to roof. Kurosaki and his friend seemed to gather their pretty often. She might not be on the best of terms with them but at least she knew them. Besides the energy that seemed to suffocate this room was beginning to suffocate her as well.

She raced out the door, pushing past one of the boys and flying down the hall towards the first year class room. She wasn't afraid but the feelings in that room were so oppressive. It hat felt like they were all pushing that energy onto her and she could barely breath from the intensity of it all. It was only when she was halfway to the Kurosaki's classroom that she realized she had promised her lunch to that Kobayashi boy, at least that's what she thought his name was. She stopped in her tracks and took a fortifying breath. Turning back around, Hermione made her way back down the hall and to the class room. The entire walk back was filled with thoughts on how she could prevent that oppressive feeling whenever she was in the room.

"Granger-san!" Hermione stopped and glanced around until she saw the five boys lounging on the stairs going up to the next level. "You had left so quickly I thought I should find you and remind you that you had promised me your lunch hour."

"I'm sorry Kobayashi-san. I had promised my uncle I would get to know some of the children of his friends. I was on my way to one of the classrooms to introduce myself when I had remembered my promise." Hermione did her best to keep her tone sincere, it wasn't hard because she was sorry. Though her regret had nothing to do with forgetting.

"Ah1 You remembered my name how very kind of you." Kobayashi said and stepped down from the stairs. "I'll show you to the library and then you can get back to what you were doing." He didn't wait for her to follow and proceeded to walk down the hall. She said a hasty farewell to the group and walked after him. She wasn't sure her plan to keep these five in her sight was such a good idea, especially when she could hear them mumbling amongst themselves as she walked away.

"So tell me about yourself Granger-san." Kobayashi said as he slowed down. Soon she was next to him and she found herself sharing her own history with the boy. How she knew Japanese and about meeting her uncle. She didn't mention the magic world but she felt unsettled at the urge she felt to share her darkest secrets with the boy next to her. It was almost as she couldn't resist his questioning, it was like she'd been fed diluted veritaserum.

They arrived at the library and Kobayashi showed her around for a little while before leaving her there. As the door closed behind him she breathed a sigh of relief. Her mind racing with the possibilities of the power he had held over her for such a short time. She hadn't been able to resist it beyond the point of keeping her world a secret. No she had be right in her actions so far, these five needed to be watched and she needed to tell her uncle.

She looked at the clock and realized she had wasted ten minutes of her lunch hour with him and raced up to the rooftop where she knew Kurosaki would be waiting for her to arrive. She hoped things wouldn't be as cool as they had been that morning. When she opened the door she spotted a smaller group sitting there, only Kurosaki, Ishida, Sado, Inoue and Kuchiki were there.

She made her way over to the group and stood just on the edge of the group, "Would it be alright for me to sit here?" She asked them and was relieved when they nodded. She sat, curling her legs under her and pulled out her lunch. She ate quietly, listening to them talk and laugh.

"Granger-san? How can you do those things you were doing last night?" The question came from Inoue and she smiled at the girl.

"I was born with a special gift, the ability to shape and mold the energy from the earth into spells. To put it more blunty, I'm a witch. I went to school for it when I turned eleven and I studied it for six years." She replied and took a bite of her lunch.

"But what about the movements? You looked like you were waging a battle all on your own." That comment came from Ishida and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Well my dad is half-japenese. I started taking formal lessons when I was very young. I learned different fighting arts and though I wasn't an expert in any of them I find that certain techniques could help me with magical dueling. I also learned how to wield certain non-magical weapons and well that's another story all together, but I fight that way because I have fought in battle before, many times. The entire time I lived in the magical world my life was in almost constant danger, so I learned how to defend myself. I had to fight a war after all." Everyone besides Kurosaki looked a little shocked and she laughed. "Don't be so surprised. I'm sure you can all see the scars on my face."

Inoue nodded and sent her a sad smile. She was so much like Ginny in a way. Ginny had to soft of a heart when it had come to pain and suffering, though with Harry that was another story all together. She had loved Ginny like a sister until her sixth year and that had been when things had changed for the worst. She only hoped that Inoue would be different. She truly did like the kind girl, but she couldn't help but be a little annoyed with the blatant weaknesses she let hang out like targets.

"Could you tell us? About some of your fights?" The question came from Sado. His voice had shocked her, she had never really heard him speak before.

"Ah! Perhaps another time? School really isn't the place to discuss my past. To many secrets that people could overhear." The group nodded and they went back to discussing things normal teenagers would talk about. She even found herself laughing over some of the boys from Hogwarts with Inoue and Kuchiki. She had been rather shocked that she could feel so at ease in this small group of people.

Before lunch ended she had remembered the questions she had wanted to ask and proceeded to question them about the five boys in her class. The only person who seemed to have realized anything was Ishida. He told her that he had felt strange energy fluctuating from her class yesterday but he couldn't say that he had ever felt it before. Hermione was disappointed but she figured she could find more out later, besides the bell had rung and it was time to get back to class.

HGHGHGHGHG

When Hermione finally entered the shop after school, the first thing she did was seek out her uncle in order to tell him what she had happened that day. She looked all over the shop and though she could feel his presence, she couldn't find him anywhere. She had looked everywhere while Kurosaki and Abarai stood there with knowing looks on their faces, finally she had given up and turned to them.

"_Alright what do you know then?" _She had been so frustrated that she hadn't realized she spoken in English until Kurosaki laughed at her.

"You're uncle's beneath the shop. I'll show you where it is." She was rather thankful that lessons in the English language were required here in Japan, or else she really would have looked the fool. Though she was rather confused by Kurosaki's statement, but she followed him to the front of the shop all the same. He brought her to the center of the store and flipped up a panel of boards on counter in the center of the room. She peered down and saw the ladder and the very long drop to the bottom. She watched as Abarai climbed down and Kurosaki followed him. Were they insane? That drop was massive and they'd die if they slipped!

"Oi! Granger, you coming down?" Kurosaki called up to her.

"No! I'll stay up here thanks! Just tell Kisuke that I'm looking for him!" She called back and tore her eyes away from the gap before her. She could feel her hands shake, though she had gotten over many of her fears during the war, the fear of heights had lingered there. She heard the tap of limbs meeting wood and Kurosaki's head reappeared and he peering at her with confusion.

"Why aren't you going to come down?" He asked.

"That's not any of your business, I'd just prefer to stay up here thanks." She replied and moved back from the counter. She proceeded to step backwards and move away from Kurosaki and the gap. Soon she realized he was climbing out after her and she began to panic a little more.

"Are you scared? You're shaking." His voice was blunt and held a confidence she wanted to smack away.

"I might be a little afraid but that's dangerous! I'm just a normal human! I don't have super powers like the rest of you! I'm still alive, I could die from falling off that." She replied and pressed herself back onto one of the shelves.

"Granger, it'll be alright. Uruhara wouldn't let anything happen to you and you know it. Besides Inoue can heal pretty much anything. Just come down. Besides I'm still human too." His voice was coaxing her like he was talking to a child and that itself annoyed her.

"I know my uncle wouldn't hurt me! I just don't like height alright? I never have." He was moving towards her now and she felt like she was some skittish horse he was trying to corner. She dodged his hand that had reached for her, but she was shocked when he clutched her and tossed her over his shoulder. She struggled the entire time that he climbed down the ladder, ignoring his demands for her to stop. When she reached the bottom she was trembling again, though this time it was from anger at being forced down the well.

"Kisuke! What on earth were you thinking about building that ladder like that! That isn't safe!" She heard the two boys laugh as she scolded her uncle about the dangers of that ladder. In the end though Kisuke had weedled his way out of getting yelled at completely by explaining that he never though she'd ever have to come down there. He had then proceeded to squeeze her against his chest after she had forgiven him, now they were laughing at her.

"I wouldn't laugh to much boys, she's helping me train you today." She smiled smugly as their mouths close and the paled slightly in shock. They had seen what she could with the spells, though her fighting skills would probably never match up to theirs it didn't change that fact that the spells were used at a distance. Then as if they realized that she couldn't match them in skill they both got a little cocky and she growled in frustration. Her uncle handed her a glove and she slipped it on her hand, she walked over to the two boys. Kurosaki didn't have the time to dodge as she was taken off guard by the punch to his face, she watched as his soul left his body. She quickly turned and gave Abarai the same treatment.

"Now that you're both done being complete prats, how about I we start this shall we? I'm going to start firing stunners at the both of you and I want you to dodge them as best you can. On the count of three. One. Two." She fired off the first stunner and nailed Kurosaki in the chest. She watched in fascination as his movements slowed into the pace of tree sap. Either he was too powerful or magic didn't work the same on souls.

"Oi! Granger-san that was dirty!" Abarai called over to her and she only smiled at him grimly.

"Yes but most people don't have the honor to wait until their opponents ready for battle. The bad guys aren't going to give you to the count of three to prepare yourself, they'll cut you down from the back and kill your friends before your eyes just to make you feel worthless. They also won't give you a second chance." She flicked her wand and watched as Kurosaki sped across the room at a wicked speed. Harry would love being able to move that fast on his own, too bad he wasn't a shinigami.

"Ready now?" She asked and as soon as she turned toward Abarai he disappeared. She was blind to both their movements until they stop for those split seconds, soon they were in front of her and popping up closer and closer. They were taunting her with their speed. Abarai stood in front of her and looked down into her face, a cocky smirk on his face. "Is that all you got Princess? One spell? I had though you were a warrior."

Gritting her teeth Hermione cast three spells in quick succesion, one for her eyes, another for her own bodies speed and the last was a disillusion spell. Soon she was nothing more than a quick little shimmer in the air and she was firing off stunners at an alarming rate. Normally spells like this would eat away at her muscles and organs if she left them on to long, but after the session with Bellatrix she had gone through a few procedures on her own that had fortified her bodies natural resistance to the deterioration. Though she could only keep them on for an hour, two a the most. As they raced around the room their audience was joined by the others, a large group seemed to watch on as red lights came from almost nowhere. Soon she found her opportunity and shot a spell at Abarai's back. He had gotten a little careless and paused for a second too long. As his movements were slowed she knocked him to the floor with her own physical strength and proceeded to bind him magically, hoping that the spell was more effective than the stupefy had been.

Since she had knocked Abarai out of the game she concentrated on getting Kurosaki down. The game of cat and mouse went on for almost 20 minutes before she had to finally give up. He had managed to start throwing off the stunners faster than she could get there, and she needed to remove the spells she had placed on herself before she started to damage her own body. When she finally called surrender and removed the spell, she realized Kurosaki almost looked like her was laughing.

"Thanks for the game Granger, I haven't played Tag since I was a little kid." She scowled at him playfully and made her way back to Abarai. She was a little surprised that the ropes were still there, though they were badly frayed and starting to split apart on their own. She undid the spells and helped him to his feet.

"Kurosaki-san won, what should his prize be Abarai-san?" She watched as his eyes lit up with mischief and he darted over to the younger boy. Abarai picked Kurosaki up and flung him into the nearby water. She laughed as Kurosaki yelped at the hot temperature of the water.

When Kurosaki was out of the water, sulking and dripping water like a wet cat, they made their way back to her uncle and the others. "This was more for your benefit than theirs today Hermione-chan. I needed you to get used to the normal speed they have, you won't be any help if you can't keep up with them." The words harsh but he had said them with such a warm tone. The others looked a little shocked that he had spoken those words to her, the girl that he normally seemed to shower with affection and spoil. She shook her head, they obviously didn't know her uncle very well then.

They spent the rest of the night with her training Ishida and Sado how to dodge the rapid spells she cast. They worked as they would normally though they could both throw the stunners off if they tried hard enough. They had made improvement by the time Ururu called them for dinner.

As the group made their way toward the ladder she looked up and spoke the question aloud. "So Kurosaki, are you going to be carrying me back up then?" The boy smiled at her and she shoved his arm lightly.

"I got it Granger." he went to pick her up but was blocked by Tessai. Tessai picked her up and placed her on his back, she clung to him as she climbed up the ladder rapidly before placing her onto the floor of the shop. The others quickly appeared behind them. She shot Tessai and odd look as he scowled at the boys that stood in the group around them. She couldn't understand what was bothering him until Kisuke spoke up and she flushed red at his words.

"Tessai-san, I highly doubt any of the boys are stupid enough to try and peek up Hermione-chan's skirt. Especially not when they're in the home of her relatives." Kisuke patted her head and laughed at her red cheeks. She scowled and batted away his hand, she felt a little better though when she noticed the pinked cheeks of the boys and even Inoue was a bit red. Then she realized that if she was wearing a skirt that meant she had worn her uniform during training. It was dusty and spattered with spots of dirt, she was terrible at cleaning spells too.

She made her way to her room and quickly changed into more comfortable clothes before coming out to wish the departing people goodnight. It seemed most of them had their own places to stay, though most of the group were going to be staying behind to hear the stories she had promised to tell them. Yumi-chika had made her laugh over his comment at her being a female Uruhara because of the yukata she wore and Madarame had merely said an awkward farewell. He didn't seem to deal well with females. Hitsugaya and Rangiku soon disappeared claiming shinigami business. The only ones left behind were Sado, Ishida, Kurosaki, Kuchiki, Inoue and Abarai. They sat down to dinner and she proceeded to fill them all in on the darker parts of her past.

"The war was difficult, so many people died, more than I can count. I was a part of all of it, the fighting, the suffering and even the killing." She was winding down her story now and noticed that they each had different reactions to the news that she had killed. Most of them didn't seem to thrilled with the statement. Though her uncles seemed more sad than disappointed in her. "Think of it this way, it was either me or them, my friends and family or their friends and family, I chose mine. I wasn't about to let my weak hear get in the way of what I had to do to save the wizarding world, to save my people."

She ended her story with her arrival in Japan and the room was quiet for a little while until the younger ones decided to question everything about the wizarding world, from the schools to the finer points of dueling. She spent the next few hours immersed in telling tales about where she was from, but soon people began to leave to go home and sleep. Soon only Abarai remained and her uncle explained the freeloader would be staying with them for awhile.

She nodded her head and pulled her uncle off to the side to explain to him what had transpired that day during class and with Kobayashi. Her uncle looked concerned but told her to avoid them as much as she could and tell him about anything else that happened. He then went on to tease her about her reaction to Kobayashi.

"Are you sure it's not because you fell in love with him? A handsome, studious young man seems just your type." He wheedled at her and laughed with him as he teased her again and again until she explained that she didn't go for guys like Kobayashi.

"He's far to condescending Kisuke, I prefer smart guys who are confident in their knowledge but can admit when they are in the wrong. Who can accept the responsibilities that they have to face and are willing to help when they're needed, not expecting much back in return. Plus I tend to prefer more of the athletic types of guys."

"So you're saying that I should be keeping you away from Abarai and Kurosaki?" Her uncle teased with a smirk.

"You don't have to worry about that Uncle Kisuke. I can't see them becoming anything more than little brothers to me."

"You realize Abarai's nearly 56 years older than you?" Her uncle asked as he walked her to her room.

"Yes but he acts like he's no older than 15." She replied and went into her room. "Goodnight Uncle."

"Goodnight Hermione." Her uncle replied and closed her door. She made her way over to the futon and spread it out before curling up to sleep. Today had been far to long.

A/N: GAH! 10 Pages. Enjoy them! Sorry this was so late and it's probably sucky but I'm fighting sleep to write this and get it out so forgive the errors. Also.. Next time I'll get into more detail with the action, just be patient I'm new to this genre.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Harry Potter

AN: Excuses at the bottom..

Hermione let out a long sigh as she made her way to the rooftop of Karakura high. She'd spent the last week avoiding her new friends in her class. The boys however were persistent and her excuses getting weaker and weaker every time. Their had been more than one occasion when she had been saved by Kurosaki or Abarai. The oppressive energy hadn't abated and she had often found herself getting lost in past memories, memories that were dark and made her shudder with revulsion.

Hermione had realized quite quickly that these boys weren't anything like she had thought they would be. They were far darker and more sinister than she ever imagined. Her uncle had done some research apparently each of the boys had lost someone close to them in life and it was after that their powers started to manifest. Apparently Kobayashi had been using something rather sinister on her when they had been chatting in the halls.

Shaking the darker thoughts from her mind she swung the door to the rooftop open only to find bodies littering the ground Food sat scattered over the ground, it almost seemed as if everyone was dead. And then she heard it again, that horrible wailing sound that had become so much more frequent than she thought it should be. She cringed as the sorrow swept over her, the anger. She began to move towards the noise when she heard someone call out behind her Ishida stood there looking over to her with regret in his eyes.

"Granger-san it's not safe to over there right now." His voice was mumbled and soft, and she didn't want to pity him knowing he would hate it.

"Ishida, we have to go help them, we can't just abandon our friends." Hermione's tone was firm knowing full well that they could be out there fighting arrancars, fighting a monster that was nigh impossible to defeat.

Ishida merely shook his head and looked out as the spiritual pressure went up just a little bit more. "Come on Ishida! You are a warrior aren't you? You find a way to destroy these things!" Hermione scolded him and was stunned by the stricken look on his face. "What you have the power I know you do! I feel it every time I'm near you."

Ishida looked just a little hopeful but smiled ruefully at her. "If it's there it's locked away in a part of me I cannot reach anymore. I was foolish and lost the ability to be what I am after we rescued Kuchiki-san from her fate at the hands of the soul society."

Hermione frowned but refrained from apologizing she hadn't know that was what happened and what she said was the truth, Ishida was a warrior. "Isn't there some way to get it back? Meditation or a near death experience?"

Ishida chuckled and shook his head, "As far as I know no, once it's gone it's gone for good."

"But it's not gone! It's dormant.. There must be something you can do!" Hermione demanded only to stop short at her second outburst when a sharp wail struck through the air. When the ominous feeling was gone and she scowled at the smirk that graced Ishida's face.

"Urahara will be quite pleased that I kept you out of the fight, but thank you for the vote of confidence." He ambled his way back to his food and soon the others had come back, most climbing back into their bodies and continuing on with lunch as if nothing had happened. She couldn't help but imagine the many times that had happened at Hogwarts, how many times Ron and Harry had starved themselves out of nervousness but as soon as the battle was over they gorged themselves on plates full of heavy foods.

She chuckled to herself, receiving and odd look here and there from her company but she merely smiled and began to eat her lunch, feeling just a little bit more cheerful than before.

HGHGHGHGHG

She shuffled down the hall and made her way to the shoe lockers, she had found herself surrounded by Kurosaki's female friends as soon as she reach the second level of the school, all of them were quite excited and talking animatedly. The only one that was quiet was Kuchiki and even she was playing with a cell phone. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes she replaced her shoes onto her feet and headed out the doors, she really would never understand girls, which wasn't very comforting to think about either.

Hermione was thankful though, when the group reached the steps outside and began to disperse into different groups. She found herself walking home with Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Abarai. They all talked like they were regular teenagers like Arrancars and Aizen weren't and issue, and a part of her understood the need to stay away from the subject but all she could really think as she walked next to them was how unfair it was. When things had gotten bad and war was approaching her world, there wasn't time for laughing or jokes, it had been nothing but running for your lives and hoping the training she gave herself was enough to save her friends. There moments where things were peaceful like this were few and far between.

"Kurosaki?" She heard herself say and jumped a bit when the boy replied.

"Yeah Granger?" His voice was low and a little confused, she realized then as that she had probably interrupted their conversation.

"Can I help? I mean besides the training, can I help take down the Hollows?" They all stared at her and her eyes focused on Kurosaki as he spoke.

"No." Just one word and she felt herself go rigid.

"Why not?" She demanded and nearly stomped her foot like a petulant child.

"Urahara would murder me for one, and two I think Renji and I proved that you had trouble keeping up with shinigami."

"That isn't the point Kurosaki! He might be my uncle but I'm also nineteen! I can make these decisions myself. I want to help! If Chad and Inoue can help why can't I? They're just as human as I am!" She knew she was throwing a tantrum but she honestly just couldn't care.

"No Granger. Just drop it alright?" It was Abarai that spoke and she turned her glare onto him, he flinched and she growled in frustration before walking again. She kept herself in head of them, no one seemed to realize how it felt to feel useless. She could barely help with the training as it was and the routine she had couldn't be applied to any of the people she knew.

"Screw it," She mumbled to herself. "They'll get my help whether they want it or not."

IKIKIKIKIKIK

Ichigo watched as the girl stomped off in a huff and shook his head. Honestly he wanted her help, the problem though was convincing everyone else to go against Urahara's wishes. Chad he knew was on board with the plan of involving her, but everyone else deferred to Urahara when it came to Granger. He knew how she felt though, like she wasn't helping, like she was useless in a fight that involved people you cared for. He had felt that way after the initial meeting with the Arrancars. After he had seen the condition Inoue was in, after seeing what had happened to Chad, he had felt so utterly useless. Rukia had kicked him back into the game and then Granger had showed up out of nowhere, a girl who obviously held a lot of love and affection for her uncles. Now all she wanted was the right to help and they weren't letting her have it. It had to be hard for her.

He spoke absently to Renji and Rukia, mostly though they talked about nothing. He knew them both well enough now to know that their minds were in a different world, worrying over a war that was soon to come down on them.

Kicking a rock on the ground he swore as his badge went off. Rukia gave them the location and they were off running towards the direction of the Hollow. He heard Granger yelling for them and he pulled Kon from his bag and used his badge to get the soul candy out. Popping it into his mouth he essentially leapt out of his body and kept running, wincing as he heard Kon stumble and fall to the ground.

They came upon the Hollow rather quickly and soon he was in battle mode, jumping in the air to swipe his sword downward over the creatures mask. As soon as he jumped Projectile shot from the hollows mouth and he moved in the middle of the air, instead swinging his sword down onto the creatures leg.

"Damn it," He growled and dodged back. Hollows were getting so much stronger now.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione ran after them, following the wails and immense energy until she stumbled upon the spot. Everyone seemed to be dodging the white projectile that were shot from the creatures mouth, trying to get close enough to creature to strike the mask. It was a moment she knew would help with her argument about helping, pulling out her wand she twisted her wrist and forced the power through her body and out of the wand.

"Langlock!" She called and watched in satisfaction as the monster mouth clamped shut as it was about to launch more of it's darts.

The commotion stilled as soon as her spells presence was felt, the stalled figures turned to her and she scowled. "What do I have to stun the thing as well? Hurry up before it wears off!"

Kurosaki was the one to jump to attention and he dashed forward, jumping into action and striking down against the mask. Hermione watched in satisfaction as the creature began to dissolve. She smiled at the three teens and turned to walk away and find Kon. She figured Kurosaki would like his body back.

Placing the wand into her hand she shuddered at horrible black wood, the wand hated her and she hated it as well, but it always cooperated when it was time to fight. It thrived on it and now she was in for a struggle, the damn thing better work or she'd snap it in half. The spell she wanted to use was really just a simple variation on the 'point me' spell but she had to find a body with another persons soul in it, oh joy.

"Point me," She mumbled focusing in on trying to find Kurosaki's body and not his soul. The wand spun in her hand and settled back in the direction of his soul. She scowled and tried again, eventually giving up in a huff. She didn't know enough about what Kon's soul actually looked or felt like in order to find him, she'd have to figure something out for later.

"Hey Kurosaki, you wouldn't happen to be able to take my to my uncle's house, I'm not quite sure where I'm suppose to go." She called back to the three behind her. The boy nodded and the group continued to walk. "You have patrol tonight don't you?"

"Yeah." Kurosaki mumbled and Hermione nodded her head.

"Do you want some help?" She whispered and looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

Kurosaki froze and looked down at her before slowly nodding his head. "Yeah."

Hermione had a brilliant smile that stayed on her face until they arrived at the shop. She went in and headed straight to her room. Pulling books from the shelves she searched for spells that could help in the future. She looked up though when she heard a voice say her name from the doorway. Kurosaki was there again.

"You realize that you're Uncle is going to murder me if he finds out though, don't you?" Hermione nodded her head and smiled.

"Technically he already did." She shot him a cheeky smile and went back to her books, the smile on her face widening as she heard he walk away with a chuckle. She had an ally now.

AN: Soooo hey guys, thanks for the faves and alerts ^_^, but like I've said many times before, reviews will honestly make me write faster.. Because I end up discussing things with readers and brainstorm about a story a lot more…. That and it feeds my fragile ego.. Soo the reasons I haven't updated are quick a few so I'll just give a short overview. My brother came home from his post overseas for two weeks.. So I spent as much time as possible with him. I got a BETA job from a man called DerLaCroix(Check him out if you like… his stories are on the mature side though.. Or at least heading there.) I've been busy with my family and my aunt has leukemia.. And my prescription got changed and I had to get used to the new medicine and I've been working out a schedule with my ex so he can see our daughter. (finally) that I have writers block I swear it.. But I have the next couple of chapters basically planned so I hope it all works out well and there won't be such a huge gap between reviews. Also sorry this is a short one..

Thanks for reading and review!!!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello my lovelies... it's been nearly a year since the readers of this fic have seen anything from me and I definitely owe you all an apology. I could make dozens of excuses but I won't simply because I feel like it'd be disrespectful for the patience you've all had in my not updating this fic... and well I'm thrilled people are still digging around enough to even read it so it's nice :) This chapter is short in comparison to others but I've decided to write shorter chapters so I can update more frequently... a lot of my stories are stuck because I can't fill out certain chapters enough to post and I realise this is unfair to my readers and well I'm here to please you all so why not yeah? Oh and as a special treat I'll be including Skits, featuring my very good friend DerLacroix, a talented H/hr shipper, I BETA for him and if you all like your fics a bit racy and long, well give them a shot, totally worth it :D Also the little skits will most likely be a tad Macabre..

DISCLAIMER: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling...

Hermione laced up her boots, pulling the strings tight and wrapping the excess around her calf before tying them off with a double knot. She looked down her body gauging the supplies she had decided to bring with, blood replenishing potions, a homebrewed version of instant darkness, a few potions to heal moderate and major wounds. Tucking her wand into her holster she made her way from her room, moving as quietly as she could. She crawled out the window of the shop, scowling as she heard soft laughter sounding at her ungraceful landing.

"Bite me Kurosaki." She grumbled and dusted herself off.

It was always strange for her to see the young teen dressed up in his shinigami garb, she stared for a short while longer before moving to the crouched Kurosaki, and she climbed onto his back, grumbling about how demeaning this was.

"Granger, you wanted to help, I can easily carry you and run after hollows." He scooped her up and they were off, moving faster than Hermione had ever thought possible.

"Well let's just hope all we come across tonight is hollows." She added as they zipped through buildings.

"You're going to jinx us Granger." Kurosaki mumbled before halting in his movements, disorienting Hermione, causing her to stumble as she slid down his back.

"So what now Kurosaki?"

"We wait, and wait until we sense something."

They did just that, they sat down to and began to make small talk, trying to fill the silence Hermione learned of a crazy new kid that had terrorizing the girls in Ichigo's class, apparently he was quite the idiot. Though the talk was light the air around them was tense with anticipation. Her muscles were taught and her hand shook slightly as she moved it a long her knee. Soon enough though she felt something familiar but it was no hollow.

She stood and glanced around, a reaction from the war and Kurosaki stood as well, "What's going on Granger?"

"Something odd is happening that way, it feels so familiar." She began to walk, her pace steady and stiff.

Ichigo watched as this girl in front of him began to become a little strange, when he looked into her face her eyes were glassy and white. He clutched her shoulders, shaking her and calling her name. She kept moving though and he let go, grabbing up zangetsu and following behind her. They went blocks away, Ichigo hadn't bothered to count the number. Finally they ended up in a small park and Ichigo grabbed her shirt before she could go any farther.

"Listen here Granger, I know for a fact that you're much stronger than whatever lure is being held over you right now. I've seen you take down a shinigami, I've seen you shut the fat mouth of a Hollow and if you can do that, you can get over whatever issue you're having right now." He smacked the back of her head, hoping that it would kick her out of the spell she was under, unfortunately for him it did.

He soon found himself on the ground looking at the tip of a sinister looking stick and at a girl who looked more crazed then he'd ever seen her.

"Granger?" He asked, keeping his voice soft.

"Kurosaki?" She shook her head and stepped back. "I'm sorry about that, I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright," He stood and brushed the dirt off his clothes, "The question I have though is what exactly brought us here."

"I'm not sure, all I can remember is this voice whispering in my head to come and see him, that I was needed for something." She took a step forward and Ichigo grabbed her arm.

"Oh no, not again Granger."

"Of course not Kurosaki, I'm following the voice yes but only to see what's going on," she gave him a cheeky smile. "A punch to the head tends to clear all other thoughts."

Ichigo had the decency to look sheepish and regretful over his actions. "Well I'm more of the brute force type if you hadn't noticed."

Granger laughed softly, shaking her head "Yes and you're not the brightest bloke but you got it where it counts."

Hermione was feeling more than foolish as she lead Kurosaki to a tree filled area of the park, surprisingly she wasn't the only girl who had been lead there, there were quite a few picking their way through the forested area, most nearly tripping but easily picking the pace up again.

"Kurosaki if I need you I'll scream, you're energy is way too obvious for you come with me into these woods." Hermione said as she made her way into the trees.

"Granger! Are you mad? Your uncle would kill me! Literally this time!" he whispered furiously.

"I swear I'll be alright, I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well." She tried to reassure him with a smile and began to make her way through the trees, setting her pace to match the others, making her face look slack and vacant.

Soon enough she came across a small clearing and sitting on an old stump was a male figure, shrouded by a long jacket, his face turned away from the incoming girls.

When they were all assembled in a neat little line he began to speak, "My lovely little cherry blossoms, how sweet it is of you to come and visit." He stood then, with a dramatic sweep of his jacket, that reminded her of Hogwarts. "Now my sweet blossoms do you know why you're here?"

'Yes' they all intoned together, Hermione was beginning to get more and more concerned that she wouldn't be able to get away from this like she had planned.

"Yes now let me examine you shall I? We'll see who gets to go first." He turned then allowing her a clearer view of his face, she nearly gasped as she realized it was Tanaka Hioshi, the flirty boy from her class.

He seemed to spot her at the same moment and swiftly moved towards her, capturing her chin and tilting her head back. "My, My Granger-chan, what on earth are you doing here, and looking so conspicuous as well."

She didn't respond and he tugged her hair sharply, "Answer me, my blossom."

"I heard your call and came to see you, master." She tried to keep the emotion from her voice but she was sure her eyes were sparking with indignation.

"Ahhh, there still some fire in you, look at those eyes burn." He slid his hand from her hair and cupped her cheek, moving in to place a kiss upon her neck.

Her knee shot up then, slamming in between his legs. She let a smirk tilt her mouth as she snatch the packet of instant darkness and chucked it to the ground, allowing the now panicked girls the time they needed to get away. She swung her leg forward, in the general direction that his body had landed. Her foot met nothing but air and she ended up falling backwards, landing hard on her arse with a pained grunt.

"Bloody hell." She whispered and stood, listening for any noise in the clearing, trying to determine where Tanaka had gone, the powder wouldn't last long but she was as vulnerable as he was.

"What is this?" Tanaka sounded angry and more than a little violent, "What sort of trickery are you using little girl?"

"Wouldn't you like to know you lech." She moved forward slightly and swung her leg, delighting when she managed to make contact, hearing a grunt of pain coming from Tanaka.

"You filthy little bitch!" He growled out and snarled at her as the powder's effect dissipated from the air.

"Ohhhh you're so close!" She taunted and backpedaled away as he lunged forward, his arms wrapping around her waist tightly.

"My that was easy." Tanaka spoke, his voice smooth as silk once again. "I have to admit I don't mind the position I'm finding myself in."

Hermione spit in his face and he snarled his hand swinging down and punching her in the face. While he struck his blow she managed to get her wand into her hand, jamming it into his stomach.

'Petrificus Totalus' His body froze and Hermione flick her wrist again concentrating hard and she found herself looking down on Tanaka's prone form.

'Finite' The boy in front of her lunged at her again but she popped out of existence and landed behind him. "I won't pretend to know what you were doing out here Tanaka but if I suspect for a single instant that you've done something like this again I will hunt you down and I will eliminate you."

"Big words for a pitiful human." He spoke as he stood, dusting himself off. "I don't know what you just did to me but it will not happen again."

He was on her in an instant, his body pressed up against her own and his voice was low in her ear, "Attack me again and I'll show you how mean I can be pet." He gripped her chin and moved her face up forcing her to look into his eyes. "Am I understood pet?"

Hermione punched him in the stomach and he doubled over, he lunged at her but her vision was blocked by black. Kurosaki stood before her, his expression fierce and intense. "Listen here you idiot, touch her again and you won't be dealing with just her, is that understood?"

"Che," Tanaka moved back and dashed out of sight.

"I can take care of myself Kurosaki." Hermione grumbled.

"I know that Granger, doesn't mean I can't help." Kurosaki responded. "So what happened anyways?"

She began to recount the short encounter she had with Tanaka in the clearing, he seemed pleased with that she hat spat in Tanaka's face. The problem was telling her uncle and not having him freak out…

::::

Embirsiphonelilathia sat at her desk sifting through the papers before her, checking them over for her lord. Though she didn't know what real use she was, considering most of it was pretty well perfect but she toiled on anyways, mindful of the fact that she had a job to do. She couldn't help but look forlornly at the stack of papers that sat on the shelf near the wall, covered in dust. Her own ideas and stories laying dormant, waiting for the muse to strike and for creativity to spark for her.

"Embi?" A voice called from the hallway, she turned to see her lord, standing tall and looking quite dashing in his robes, she also noticed the blood that spattered said robes... Not again. She grabbed up more papers and began to fill them out, she'd have to get them out tonight if she wanted more minions by the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

"_YOU DID WHAT?" _Her uncle Kisuke yelped, his voice tight as he spoke in English to her for the first time in so many years.

"I went on patrol last night with Kurosaki, I came across Tanaka Hioshi. He was luring girls to the park and I can only assume those girls weren't there for wholesome reasons." She kept her voice steady and level, as if they were discussing her maths not a near kidnapping.

"I told you Hermione. I told you to stay away and to just leave things be. Can't you listen?" Kisuke fell back onto his cushion, his face bared before her and she knew that her life was about to get difficult. A sigh left him and it sounded so mournful that she nearly reached for his arm, to lend a comforting hand.

"But Uncle, I just want to help, to keep everyone safe."She murmured pulling her hand back and fidgeting with her fingers.

"And you cannot! This isn't like that wizarding war! There is SO MUCH you cannot even comprehend that is happening!" She reeled back from him, his words stung more then she cared to admit.

"So am I to just sit by and watch as you go off to die? You and Tessai are the only family I have left!" She cried and stood from her cushion on the floor, flinging her teacup at her uncle's head, watching as it flew wide.

"That's the point Hermione! What am I to do if anything happens to you? How do I live with knowing that I brought you into a fight that killed you?" He growled and shoved her back onto the floor, pushing her back into her cushion.

"But I am? I should just sit idly by like a good little girl and pretend that you aren't risking your life for people who cast you off the first chance they got?" She growled and yanked at her hair in frustration. "I am not an idle person uncle."

Kisuke opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, "Fine, do as you like." He turned and walked from the room. Even though he had seemingly consented to her involvement she didn't feel very happy about it.

KUKUKUKUKUK

Kisuke made his way back to his office in the shop, it was more a tiny closet than an office but it was where he did all his secret experimenting and a place he could use to think. He was so very angry with Hermione, he'd never once felt the way he did now and he couldn't fathom why she didn't understand that he needed her to stay out of all of this, for his own peace of mind. She was exactly how he used to pretend his own daughter would be when he dwelled on things like living in the human world once again. He liked to pretend that when he was alive he had a son much like Kurosaki and a daughter like Hermione. He hadn't cared what his wife was like as long as she was a good mother. This loneliness and yearning is what prompted his adoption of Ginta and Ururu, giving them gigais and essentially a home. They weren't anything like he'd fantasized about but he hadn't cared to much at the time.

All of these thoughts rushed through his head as he glanced around his little lab and his emotions just swirled in his gut, becoming more intense until he felt there was no way one soul could feel all of this. He clutched his hand around an object on his desk, his eyes unseeing as he flung it towards the wall, disappointed when there was only a smack of the object striking the wall. He grabbed another and another and threw them until he had his fill. His lab was pretty well destroyed by then, this only made him more annoyed than he was.

He took a deep shuddering breathe realizing that this wasn't going to improve his mood or help him figure out what he needed to do to ensure Hermione's safety. His heart was warm at the thought that she wanted to protect them, that she cared enough to try but it quickly iced over when he would think of the things that could happen to her. Things that were probably worse than death, like being consumed by a hollow.

HGHGHGHGHG

Hermione was rifling through her room, digging until she found her beaded bag tucked under the parchment on her lab table. She decided that the best way to convince her uncle of her ability to help and to have him not be so angry with her was to prove she was capable. This meant that she needed books and she needed to visit the closest wizarding village.

She began to pull books out of the bag, taking pieces of parchment and transfiguring them into additional bookshelves as she began to cover the paper walls of her rooms with a multitude of books she had taken from Grimmauld both before and after the horcrux hunt. She had left them inside the bag, it was warded against any magical energy leaking out, making the contents virtually undetectable. If she hadn't set up the wards, the darkness of the books and various items would have leaked out, having an extreme effect on her. They were already starting to twist the few innocent things she had tucked inside as well before she noticed and had made another bag for her things, this one being a pack that she slung across her shoulder.

The room reeked of Darkness now and something in her soul was always physically _yanked_ her towards the tomes, the potions, the objects. Things she had collected to reverse engineer, using her studies to find counter-curses or at the very least a treatment for something. More times often than not though she had failed at her endeavors and lives had been lost because she couldn't figure something out. She could have lived killing the deatheaters, giving them the justice they so deserved but when she failed an innocent and they died, she felt as if she had killed them herself. For a short while she had hated her magic, hated the fact that she was so different from the majority of the world but she thought better of it after George went off on her one day when she had been wallowing, making her feel the size of a puffskien. He had been right though and she was happy she had listened. Now she just had to keep using her magic to help people, she couldn't let her talents go to waste anymore. And she'd make Kisuke see that, somehow.

IKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIK

Ichigo flinched each time an object struck a wall, Urahara's soul pressure was immense and he could only thank whatever sacred creatures that were listening for the fact that the rage that buffeted his body was not aimed directly at him. Though he found himself frowning as he thought of the changes Granger had brought about in annoying shopkeeper. He worried more now, his blasé attitude towards life or the afterlife perhaps was reined in, he never spoke light of battle and death in front of Granger. He couldn't help but think in wonder of the girl who had taken him down in the training room, stood toe to toe with Urahara and faced off against that pheromone creep. She was completely unafraid all the time, she never faltered.

He did wish she hadn't spoken to Inoue the way she had, that had been a sore spot for him for awhile. Inoue had been become a good friend to him, someone he would do most anything to protect. Granger had made her cry and practically called her useless and it pained him to admit she was a little right. After that initial encounter with the soul society when they saved Rukia, Inoue had stopped all her training and it was so bad that her fighter spirit had shattered against the palm of an Arrancar, their first warning that this war was coming and soon.

As he sat there lost in thought his sense began to prickle and ominous feeling was floating through the shop, getting stronger and stronger by the minute. The power that washed over his skin made his hands clammy and bumps rise up on his flesh, he felt cold but the air was so warm. He stood and made his way to door to Urahara's little office. Rapping sharply on the wood he waited and the door flew open a mere second later.

"Urahara." Ichigo greeted and pushed passed him, his hand reaching out to drag the man back into the room. He slid the door shut and turned back to Urahara. "We need to talk."

"About?" The man inquired.

Ichigo grit his teeth, "Granger, Your niece, _Hermione._"

Urahara sighed then, and ran a hand over his face. "What about her?" He sounded so weary that Ichigo almost stopped the conversation but he pushed on, knowing that there was more important things to worry about than the man's feelings.

"She was an asset last night, yes she had gotten lured in but that wasn't something she could have stopped. There were almost a dozen girls there Urahara, she saved them _all._ She helped me with that hallow as well, yes she needs training, rigorous training, but I just know that she can help us all. Even if she only comes onto the field to heal our injuries we're going to need her. You _must _see this." His voice had risen in pitch, his desperation leaking through.

"I know that Ichigo, I do." The older man sighed, slumping back into a chair and gesturing for the teen to sit on top of his work table, the only other available space. "I'm just so scared."

"Why? We know where people go when they die, we would find her again." Ichigo insisted, realizing he meant every word, Urahara may be many things but Ichigo owed him so much. He also knew that even if he hadn't, Granger had become a friend, and he'd already faced the soul society once for a friend, he could do it again.

The blonde nodded his head, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "What would you do though if it was Karin or Yuzu?"

Ichigo felt his teeth grind, "I would do as much as I could to prepare them for their tasks and if they did die I would tear the Soul Society apart looking for them, laws be damned."

"I'm not allowed into the Soul Society, I was banished. Actually I escaped execution." Ichigo nearly fell off the counter.

"What?" He exclaimed.

"It's a story for another time Ichigo, just know that I couldn't go with you. She'd be in more danger if I did. You'd have to do this on your own." Urahara sounded so defeated and hopeless that Ichigo reached for him, his hand curling around than man's wrist.

"I swear Kisuke that if Hermione Granger falls in this war I will search the Soul Society until I've found her, until I can bring her back here to you." Ichigo tried his best to convey the sincerity of his words.

He felt himself fall off the counter as he was tugged forward, the older man embracing him tightly in thanks and relief. He reached his arms up and squeezed back. "It's going to be okay Kisuke."

"It will be, no matter what it will be. Thank you Ichigo." He pulled away and ruffled Ichigo's red hair.

"You would do the same for me wouldn't you?"Ichigo asked, already knowing the answer.

The blonde nodded and moved to the door, "Let us go and check on Hermione, She must have something fun in her room if the energy I've been feeling is any indication."

Ichigo grinned and followed after him out the door and down the hall. Hermione's room looked like a lab had made a baby with a library. Tables were filled with beakers, vials and large metal pots. Each pot contained a bubbling mixture that coloured the air slightly with its vapours. The walls were covered in hundreds of books, each of different shapes and sizes. Some were bound in fabrics and textures he didn't recognize and he felt compelled to reach for a purple tome only to have his hand slapped sharply down.

"Kurosaki! Do not touch anything in this room." Hermione growled and Ichigo turned to her, his eyes wide.

"Why?" He breathed and looked to Kisuke, seeing that the man was gripping his hands together tightly as he stared avidly around the room.

"It's dangerous." The girl breathed and feathered her fingers over the book he had been going for. "I don't know how it would affect someone like a shinigami but this book was meant to be touched by someone who has magical blood. No doubt some attempt by a pureblood to punish muggleborns and muggles alike. Proved them rather wrong since I've read the whole thing twice."

"Why would you keep them if they're so dangerous then?"

"Know thy enemy." Was all she said before she moved back to stir a pot.

"What are those Hermione?" Kisuke had asked, moving his way over to her side.

Hermione tensed and then leaned her head against her uncle's shoulder, it was something that Ichigo thought spoke volumes for the relationship they shared. "This one is a potion that will render a human invisible for two hours, I'm hoping that I can tweak the recipe to include Reistu as well."

Kisuke looked impressed and nodded his head, "And the others?"

Ichigo being just as interested moved to peer into each pot with them.

"Each cauldron is filled with different potions, most of them are healing tonics though a few are things that can be used in battle." She pointed to a red, thin liquid. "This one doesn't look like much but it can eat it's way through most anything including wards. That gold one over there is called Felix Filius. You can't take more than one vial in a day though, or else you'll poison your system but the risk is worth it. It will give you a perfect day, everything will go your way. That purple one will make you fall into an endless slumber until you receive an antidote, which is that teal colored potion over there." She gestured to different cauldrons as she moved telling them what they did. "This one will give you back any blood you may have lost, I'm sure it doesn't effect spiritual bodies but it's not just spirits fighting this war. There's Ishida, Sado and Inoue. Her skills in healing are quite adept but even she cannot return blood loss. Besides she can only heal so much no?" she went on to describe them. Ichigo listened intently, asking how they could identify which was which on the field. Kisuke agreeing and listening to her explanation that the vials would be labeled though she'd have to brief everyone on what they did.

"And the books Hermione, the trinkets? There is sinister things in this room." Kisuke looked at the girl in concern and Ichigo thought the old man may have really gone soft.

"Their books about Dark Magic mostly, things I needed to know to survive. Though I read more than half over these for nothing, they were next to useless. The trinkets are cursed objects that I've broken down, attempting to find a way to dispel the curses held within, or even just a cure for people affected by them." She smiled bitterly, "Though it didn't do me much good, twisted my soul more than helped."

She sighed in exasperation, Ichigo feeling confused turned back to her, "I know you feel it Uncle, even Ichigo does though I don't know why he would. The darkness in this room calls to you doesn't it? your fingers are itching to clutch onto a spine and leaf through the pages. You want to put that watch in your pocket, or that locket around your neck. But you're fighting that urge because you know, you _know_ that it's evil. I can resist only because I've been around it for so long. But you'll never grow immune to it, it only sucks you in deeper. The only reason I've not gone mad is because I bath my fingers in wards and potions, designed specifically to act as a barrier between my magic and the objects."

"Is that why my hollow is screaming for me to snatch all of this up and _consume it all._" The witch spun and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Your what?" She yelped and narrowed her eyes at him.

He looked at Kisuke in shock, having been certain that he had told her. "It's a long story just know that I am in control of it."

She searched his eyes and nodded her head, turning and pulling something from her pack. A long saber was in her hand and he was more than perplexed about how she had gotten it to fit. Come to think of it where did all these things come from anyway?

"This sword was used to destroy many evil things, things called horcrux. The Dark Lord, Voldemort had split his soul into seven pieces, six times intentionally and the last time had been something that he hadn't counted on. It's been coated in the venom of a basilisk, forged by goblins and wielded by the savior of our world and then again by a dear friend. If it could destroy those soul fragments than maybe it can do some damage to the enemies you'll face in the future." She looked so sad that Ichigo had to resist the urge to hug her, she looked so much like Yuzu would when she was sad.

"No Hermione, _we _will destroy them together." Kisukes gaze was intense on the girls face and Ichigo nodded his head when she looked at him.

"We're going to need you Hermione." Ichigo added and clapped a hand on her shoulder, his grin faltering as she burst into tears. "What did I do?"

Kisuke chuckled and carefully removed the sword from her grasp and pulled her into a hug, before pushing her back and forcing her to look into his eyes. "You have to promise me something Hermione, if you die you will find a safe place in the Soul Society and stay put. Ichigo will come to find you."

"What about you?" Her voice was choked and hard to understand.

"You know I cannot." The girl nodded and gave her uncle another hug, before she turned and launched herself towards him.

"You did this didn't you Ichigo? Thank you so much." She kissed his cheek and he flushed, hugging her tightly before releasing her.

"I only convinced him that your death wouldn't be the end of your life." He felt mildly embarrassed and scowled over her head, as Kisuke laughed at his discomfort.

The blonde man clapped his hands together, rubbing them in eagerness, "There are other conditions as well, you must train every day. We need you ready to fight a battle with swords as much as magic. You'll also be needing to teach a few more people these potions of yours, even if it's only the healing ones. We'll need as many skilled hands as we can get. You can start with me and I'll teach Tessai later. Then you can choose who else will help.

"Ishida, Inoue, Yumichika and Ururu. Jinta can help me make other things, he likes it when things explode after all." She winked at her uncle's expression and turned back towards Ichigo, nudging his shoulder slightly.

"Does this mean we're friends now?"

"Yeah I think it does."

A/N: I'm sure most of you keep up to date on bleach, well I had been refraining from reading anything about it (You've no idea how hard that was) since I had started working on this story, but since I hadn't had much motivation to write I thought maybe reading the manga would help inspire me. Sadly or awesomely I'm not sure yet, the Fullbringers that were introduced are quite close to the Original 'creatures' we'll say that I developed the idea of in this story. Though not exactly the same the resemblance is uncanny and I almost feel like I've been a bit cheated in my originality. Though I'll never begrudge Tite Kubo his right to his own creativity as well, it was just a bit odd for things to happen this way. Though I suspect that some people won't believe me about my original idea I don't really care, it's just a rather strange coincidence. Sorry for the long wait on this as well.. I never realized how difficult it would be to keep this fic going, writing a crossover.. I have all the ideas it's just getting them out that seems to be tricky and well bleach has SO many characters.. it's difficult to keep it all straight.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N - I'm back again.. :D and well I've had just soo much junk happening in my life that I'm just not even going to bother with the long speal. I am however glad to report that I'm making a concerted effort to write again. I sincerely miss it and my readers.

Disclaimer: If you don't get the point by now then I'm screwed..

Hermione made her way into the school building, Ichigo, Ishida and Abarai flanking her sides. She thought it was a little silly that Ichigo was so determined to make sure she stayed safe at school. It wasn't as if those boys could really try anything in broad daylight and all three of them were in a different year level as well. They stood in the courtyard, waiting for the rest of Ichigo's friends, school wouldn't start for another twenty minutes or so.

"Why are we so early today?" Abarai grouched, his arms crossed, a scowl on his face.

"We're here because Hermione needs and escort, you do remember us discussing the situation with her classmates this morning don't you?" Ishida snarked as he leaned on the railing to the steps outside.

"Shut it, four eyes." Abarai shot back. "I figured it was established she could handle herself against those idiots."

"One of them maybe, but not all five." Ichigo murmured and pointedly ignored her scowl. He yelped though when she punched his arm. "Alright maybe three."

Hermione grinned and nodded her head. "It's true though, I'm rather worried about what's going to happen when I step into that classroom."

The three boys turned pensive and she sat down on the steps, shifting her legs so her skirt didn't expose anything. That morning her uncle had been very determined to ensure her safety at school, which meant that these three boys would be monitoring her whereabouts at school as best they can. She sighed and leaned back slightly her head hitting Ichigo's knee. The red headed boy grinned down at her and nudged her head with his knee making her frown at him. "Prat."

"Prat? What does that mean?" Ichigo asked her and she grinned.

"Means you're a smarmy idiot." Ichigo scowled at her this time and she chuckled with the other two before her laughter was cutoff with a yelp as she fell backwards no longer have the support of the boys leg.

Ichigo was laughing at her now and she glared at him. "You're lucky I can't do magic in public." She muttered.

Soon idle chat filled the silence and more of their friends arrived at the steps. Kuchiki and Inoue waved at her and she smiled slightly in return. Soon she was hauled to her feet by Ichigo and Abarai, she dusted herself off and looked around. She'd yet to see the boys from her class but they could have gotten here earlier than her and there was of course the possibility that they went in through another entrance of the school.

She walked between the two red haired boys as they walked the halls to her classroom and paused outside the door. She could feel the presence of her 5 classmates quite clearly and she whispered slightly. "Can you feel it?"

Ichigo frowned and concentrated for a moment before nodding his head, "Yeah but it's weaker than I'd thought it'd be."

Abarai seemed to agree and Hermione frowned. Was she simply more sensitive to the darkness of the people around her because of her exposure to it in general or were these two just really terrible at detecting it?

"It feels oppressive to me, it's almost too difficult to breath at times."

Ichigo frowned and wished there was some way to simply transfer her to another classroom. "Is there a way you can shield yourself from it?"

"I don't know. This isn't like the magic where I'm from. All of you have a similar energy to mine but it's still so foreign and strange."

Their whispered conversation came to an abrupt halt as a shrill bell rang and she scowled at them, "You made me late!" She hissed and promptly dashed through the doorway.

IKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIK

Ichigo almost laughed at the abrupt turn in her demeanor but thought better of it as she marched through the doorway in a huff. He was worried, more worried than he wanted to be but there wasn't anything he could really do for her in this situation aside from having him and his friends monitor the energy coming from the room as best they could from a floor away. They'd see her during breaks and that would have to be enough for now.

Renji was smirking at him as he leaned against the wall, "So, you got a thing for the British witch?"

Ichigo sputtered and shook his head, "No. I'm just worried about her is all."

"Why?" Renji inquired as they headed to their own classroom.

"Because she's been through some crazy stuff Renji. Because she's my friend and I'm not going to let anything happen to her if I can help it."

"What sort of 'stuff'?" Renji asked, his voice a bit haughty and a little curious.

Ichigo's only responded with one word. "War."

Renji frowned, "Well yeah but, so? Shouldn't that make you less worried for her? She's alive now isn't she?"

Ichigo scowled at his fellow redhead, "You're an idiot."

Ducking into his classroom he kept most his focus on the classroom above trying to detect any fluctuation in the energy coming from there. It didn't matter than no one else got it, it didn't matter because he saw a kindred spirit in Hermione, she seemed to understand the pressure he was under, she understood his wild desires to be the one to protect the people he loved. He knew Renji thought it was more than that, that he was attracted to Hermione and he wouldn't deny her physical appeal, but he knew it wasn't that at all.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione sat in her desk, her foot bouncing her knee with excess nervous energy. Tanaka was staring at her, a large bruise had bloomed over his face. She didn't have a mark on her, courtesy of her magic and a part of her felt a little smug about it. Kobayashi and the others were staring just as intently and the longer they stared the more oppressive the energy around her became. She felt like it was trying to push into her brain and she closed her eyes to the onslaught, concentrating on her mental shields in an effort to repel the sensations. She was sincerely wishing she hadn't decided to attend school here in Karakura town. When the time for lunch came she was up and out of the door before the teacher had even finished talking, she collided solidly with the chest of a tall, lanky blonde boy who grinned strangely down at her.

"You alright pet?"

Hermione scowled before she noticed something, the current of energy beneath her fingers felt the same as Ichigo's but softer and far more hidden than Ichigo's ever would be. This man had full control over his power and her eyes grew wide.

"Cat got your tongue? I mean I know I'm handsome and everything." He began to chatter on and she stared blankly at him as the five boys from her class stalked past them in the hallway. They wouldn't approach her when she was near someone else and she barely noticed the blonde man's eyes cut across and follow the passing figures before he brought his tirade to a stop.

"Really are you mute?" He wondered aloud as they stared at each other.

"I'm not a bloody mute." Hermione huffed, annoyed. "I do however owe you my thanks, so thank you very much for that."

"What'd I do?" He asked, his voice confused and Hermione smiled in amusement. This guy wasn't going to give anything away.

"Don't worry about it then." She responded and when she turned to leave Ichigo and Abarai where bent over in front of her, breathing heavily. "What on earth is wrong with you guys?"

Ichigo looked up and his eyes flickered to the blonde guy standing behind her still. He glared and muttered something about getting in trouble and having to solve some problems. Hermione realized that a hollow had probably appeared in town, far enough away to where she couldn't sense it but she knew that they had their own ways of detecting their presence in the material world.

"Let's go Granger." Abarai grumbled and grabbed her wrist pulling her along and she laughed, his grip was loose and he seemed more embarrassed than angry anyways.

She turned and waved at the guy who had, maybe unwittingly, saved her but she could be wrong in her observations.

He flashed her another grin and turned to walk off down the hall. She turned her face forward again and tugged a bit on her arm. "Abarai, I know where to go."

"Right." He said, dropping her wrist and looking a bit embarrassed.

"Thanks for coming to my classroom as quick as you could though, I appreciate that." The two boys grinned a bit shyly at her and nodded.

"Sorry we were late though." Ichigo responded as they began to climb the steps to the roof.

"It's not a big deal." She told him with a grin, "You had a town to protect right?"

Ichigo smiled, nodding his head as Abarai pushed the door to the roof open. "I would have liked to get some food first though. I'm going to have to start bringing a lunch with me if this keeps up."

"Why would we let you buy food when we can give you some and then make you cook for us later?" Abarai teased and she swatted at him as they approached the large group of people sitting on the far end of the roof.

"Hey guys!" Ichigo shouted before jogging over, "We kidnapped Hermione before she could get food again, anyone got some to spare?"

Inoue volunteered rather quickly and Hermione smiled, feeling rather grateful for the girl's eagerness to help her. Before she could accept though a hand was clapped over her mouth and Ishida spoke from behind her. "No thanks Inoue, I brought extra in case this were to happen."

The subject was dropped but she turned to Ishida with a hiss, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Trust me on this Granger, you do not what Inoue's cooking." She glared at the boy and then remembered his comment from before about how he'd rather not have her cooking if she cooked anything like the girls around here.

"Well thank you I suppose but it's still rude what you did."

"Well then I guess you won't be getting any of my lunch then." He murmured with a smirk and she quickly smiled.

"Oh come on Ishida, please don't let me starve? I can't keep owing food to those two dolts either, if they have their way I'll be cooking for them for the rest of my life."

The dark haired boy laughed and handed her the bottom slate to his bento box as he sat down, he'd also produced a set of pink and white chopsticks for her to use.

"I wanted to talk to you after school at some point about a project that I have in mind if you're up for it." Ishida spoke in between bites of his meal, he had impeccable manners and she sincerely wished more boys their age could behave the way he did when they ate food.

"I sure I can squeeze you in, I do have quite a few things I'm working on at present though."

"Well this shouldn't take up much of your time anyways, the part you'll play, while important, should hopefully be dealt with easily."

Hermione nodded and listened to the hushed conversations around her, she was pleased to hear that Inoue was planning on training up a bit herself at some point but she didn't know how to fix her weapon 'tsubaki'. Ichigo, Sado and a few others were discussing training regimens. It made her both happy and sad to know that they were attempting to prepare themselves. She sat quietly in thought, enjoying the food Ishida had brought for her and she wondered what she could do to lighten their hearts if only for a short while. They needed to be able to be teens as much as they could before they couldn't turn back anymore. Suddenly and idea occurred to her.

"Excuse me?" Everyone turned to look. "I was wondering if perhaps you'd all like to come over tonight for a short while, I want to show you something."

Most everyone's faces were a mixture of confusion and intrigue, while some who knew her a bit better than others looked wary. She smiled at Ichigo, "No worries Red, I won't do anything too terrible to you."

Ichigo scowled and tossed a piece of his bread at her, which she dodged with a laugh. "No thank you, Ishida made me plenty of food."

There was a smattering of laughter around the group and the conversations become a little lighter and little more fun. She had a hard time believing she was the one who would be playing the role of brain and comedic relief, having just one job last time around was hard enough.

As always Please Review! It's super simple now after all! And I do accept anonymous reviews quite happily.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm going to be upfront and let you all know that Ichigo and Hermione will not be the final pairing for this story. Sorry if you were hoping for it.. I wouldn't mind eventually writing them up as a pairing but as it is Ichigo will probably remain single because I ship him with boys and I don't want to upset anyone's feels over his pairing :P This is a short chapter but I think it will have a good impact on you all.. I'm in the process of picking up a BETA if we can finally tie up some communication on it. I hope you all enjoy and as always please review. I'd love to know what you all think. (Also I have twice the amount of subscribers as I do reviews and it's a little disheartening when so many people will read stories but fail to comment on them. Especially when the site has made it super super simple to do now..)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but the 5 creepy boys and the skewed plot format.

After lunch she made her way back to her classroom, a sudden bought of nerves striking through her. She didn't want to go there but knew that currently she didn't have a choice, perhaps if she let her school work fail she could be moved to a different class, as her class placement had more to do with grades than anything else. The mere thought though made her slightly sick and she felt that if she was going to figure out what those boys were up to she'd have to be around them. She really didn't enjoy the thought of letting them roam free when there was already so many other things she'd have to worry about.

The classroom was empty as she sat in her seat, she'd come back from lunch earlier than the others, simply because she'd needed a little while to think about the new role she'd found for herself. She'd been here less than a week and already felt like she was a part of this ragtag bunch of people. She enjoyed the banter she had with the boys and the quiet conversations she could have with Hitsugaya and Ishida, the two being the more serious ones of the group. Sado and Kuchiki remained a mystery to her as the first one rarely talked and the second one just rarely talked to her about anything that wasn't superficial. She didn't think it was anything personal though so she brushed it off for now, Kuchiki seemed more fascinated with learning about humans in general than she did with the battle ahead. She supposed it could simply be her way of coping with the situation though, Luna had been along a similar vein.

Soon students filled the empty seats and the five boys wandered in, each of them staring at her intensely as they resumed their seats. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and soon the pressure on her mind began to build, she steeled her mental walls and gripped her pencil, charming it silently with to copy down the notes she needed as she preoccupied her mind keeping with rebuffing the energy so keen on piercing her shields. There was still so many hours of school left and she didn't want to be in the classroom anymore. The pressure only grew and she could only think of the panic and worry that her friends downstairs could be feeling, because surely they now sensed this? The pressure eventually capped off but remained persistent and she wasn't sure how long it had been since lunch but she could feel her shield slowly beginning to weaken. She didn't dare to look at the clock, afraid that a single distraction from her current purpose would break the floodgates and allow them access her mind in whatever ways they had planned. She was beginning to build a theory that they had abilities that related to mind, psychic but also somehow physical at the same time. It could be she felt the physicality more than most victims would but she figured it was more to do with her own abilities than theirs. She felt a mental crack and suddenly she her head began to pound in a much more severe way than it already did. She grit her teeth and ignored the pain, not letting out a sound. The people around them didn't need to know what was going on at all. As the pain increased and the crack grew larger she began to feel frightened, she wanted to run but she kept her feet in place and quickly enough she suddenly opened her eyes, the classroom was empty and the five boys stood in front of her, each of them smirking. Kobyashi strode forward, hissing out his question. "What are you?"

She tightened her lips, she wouldn't speak anything out loud to them, she'd been through worse pain than this. She realized rather quickly that she was hallucinating as somewhere in her head she could still hear the drone of the teacher. The boys seemed to be able to combine and share their abilities. Nakamura narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hachiro."

Suddenly the pain she felt intensified, she didn't feel any reaction in her physical body but her brain was firing on all cylinders now. It screamed the signals for pain all over her body and she did her best to ignore it. She could do this, she'd survived worse torture than this in the past.

The question came again, "What are you?" this time though and hand gripped her hair, forcing her face up as she stared into the face of Kobayashi.

She merely grinned, her teeth clenched in pain.

Tanaka's voice filtered into her mind, trying to coax her into revealing all of her secrets, offering temptations of the flesh and heart in return. She scoffed outwardly and sent him a glare, smirking than even in her hallucination his face was still bruised quite nicely. With a growl from him the voice stopped.

She gasped out a pained laugh and spoke aloud for the first time during this event, "Oh please, as if I'd want to a piece of something hundreds of girls have probably already had."

Tanaka lashed out physically, striking her face. He looked satisfied as she spat blood out on the floor. "You hit like a girl."

When he went to charge again Saitou grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Knock it off."

She heard something faint, a call of her name in the back of her mind. She had a vague realization that someone was pulling her behind them. Since they had called her Hermione, she assumed it to be Ichigo. The vision still firm in front of her eyes as Kobayashi pressed his face next to hers, his mouth near her ear. "What are you? Where do you come from? Why are you here?" He repeated the questions, his voice going smooth and silky, the same tempting feelings from the day before came back. She wanted to answer him, she should answer him. It wasn't like they could really do anything about it could they? As she opened her mouth to respond the vision suddenly disappeared and she blinked her eyes, aware of Ichigo's face swimming in her vision.

"I really didn't want to have to do that again." He muttered as his hand went to the back of her head, prodding gently and jerking back when she hissed. "Sorry."

"No, no it's fine." She murmured and then clutched her arms around him. She felt him tense and then awkwardly pat her back. She laughed and managed to keep the tears she could feel burning her eyes right where they were. "Thank you." She whispered out before she moved back.

"You're welcome, Hermione." The boy responded and then grabbed her hand, pulling her along the hallway to their friends. School had ended and she remembered her promise to them earlier today. She was going to show them the funner side of magic, hoping that they'll be able to see that power, no matter the kind doesn't have to be used for battle.

IKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIK

Ichigo had sat through the last two hours of school literally vibrating in his seat. He could feel the reitsu upstairs and glancing around the room he saw his friends could feel it as well. He needed to distract himself and his eyes bounced from person to person until they landed on the new kid, he was tall and blonde. Earlier he had come upon the same kid holding Hermione to his chest as he spoke down to her. Hermione hadn't looked repulsed or like she was struggling so he hadn't thought much of it until he had spotted those same 5 boys he'd been told about leave the classroom. He saw the blonde boy stare at them as they passed, a smug smile on his face as they scowled at him. Had the blonde boy known what was going on? Had he been protecting his friend? He could admit that he didn't feel much power coming off from him but he also knew he was terrible at detecting reitsu to begin with.

He pondered this train of thought for a little while and when the bell signaling the end of school rang he was on his feet and out the door in seconds. He had to get to Hermione. When he stumbled into her classroom, she was sitting at her desk, the energy in the room was rather oppressive the closer he was to the source. As he looked at his friend he noticed her clenched jaws and eyes, peering around the room the Tanaka and his friends had a glazed look to their eyes, sitting still, hands clenched into fists. He realized that something he didn't understand was going on and quickly moved to Hermione, pulling her up out of her seat. She followed behind him with stuttered and instinctive steps. As they walked he called her name, trying to snap her out of whatever was happening to her and then he realized that he might have to smack her again. He really didn't like the idea of hitting her but it had been the only thing that had worked last time.

Finally after he got her down to the second floor and she still hadn't responded he stopped and sighed. He clenched his fist and smacked it to the back of her head, hoping he wouldn't actually cause her harm. Her eyes cleared and he felt around her head, flinching as she hissed in pain. Great. Soon though she clutched at him and he patted her back awkwardly, apologizing again for hitting her. She thanked him and he noticed her eyes shining with tears, what had been going on in her mind? He responded softly before prying her arms off him, he did however tuck her into his side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her arm went around his waist and they walked as she leaned into him. He felt like he had a best friend for once in his life and he was starting to enjoy this feeling. Knowing that they cared for one another but there wasn't a bit of pressure on him to behave a certain way. He enjoyed not having someone expect things from him but still needing him just the same.

There progress was halted as the new boy, Shinji Harako popped up before them. His concerned eyes falling to the girl tucked into his side. The blonde man ignored him and addressed Hermione.

"You alright Princess?"

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

She felt safer pressed into Ichigo's side. It was nice to have this feeling again, the same feeling she got with Harry and Neville. Each boy made her feel safe in their presence, they counted on her much the same way she counted on them. They didn't expect things from her but they believed in her just the same. Ron had made her feel safe as well but the elephant that was his romantic expectations had always left her feeling anxious and unsure of their interactions.

When the blonde man from earlier that day had appeared and asked after her, calling her princess of all things she'd scowled slightly. No one had called her princess since Fred, George had called her that as well but it'd stopped abruptly after Fred's death. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that it was a thing the three of them had shared.

"I'm feeling better than I was if that's what you're asking." She murmured and was confused as he grinned at her.

"Good, good." He was nodding his head before his arm clapped down onto Ichigo's shoulder. "Good looking out." And then he just walked away. She stared after him confused, twice in one day he had appeared when she was in, well, a moment of peril. Was it coincidence? She'd felt the undercurrent of power beneath her hands earlier. Maybe he was a Quincy like Ishida? But Ishida had alluded to being the only Quincy left. Was he like Sado and Inoue? Then she remembered the dark sensations that had threaded through the energy within him, was he like Ichigo?

Her and her friend stared after the blonde, before turning back to head outside. When they met their friends at the steps everyone began to launch a dozen questions at her. She blinked and said she'd explain everything when they got to Kisuke's.


End file.
